In a bid to cut India’s oil import dependence as well as give higher price for sugarcane, the government has increased price of ethanol, used for doping in petrol, by Rs 2.85 per litre for the new season starting December. The ethanol purchase price for state oil companies has been raised to Rs 43.70 per litre from Rs 40.85 per liter now.
Higher price for ethanol extracted in the process of making sugar from sugarcane will incentivise higher ethanol production. The higher price for this grade of ethanol produced from C-molasses will be for sugar marketing year starting December 2018. Remunerative price to ethanol suppliers will help in reduction of cane farmer’s arrears.
For the first time, the government also fixed the price of ethanol produced from intermediary or B-molasses at Rs 47.49 per litre. This move would help mills divert cane juice for ethanol manufacturing during surplus years. So far, the price was only fixed for ethanol produced from C-molasses or final molasses. Molasses is a viscous product resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar.