Traders are looking to import maize from Myanmar after the government last month put curbs on use of sugarcane for ethanol production and said it would switch to maize to meet its fuel blending target.
“The country will have to rely on imports if it wants to achieve its blending target, as there is not enough maize in the domestic market,” said a trader who is in talks with Myanmar for its import. If India starts using maize for ethanol production, the requirement will be extremely high and will push prices up in the domestic market. Maize from Myanmar will also be competitive, said another trader. Under the Ethanol Blending Programme, India wants to achieve 20% blending of petrol with ethanol by 2025.
As sugar prices started to rise due to estimates of lower production of sugarcane in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Centre capped diversion of sugarcane juice for ethanol at 1.7 million tonnes in the ethanol supply year of November-October 2024. Sugar production till end of December in the current sugar season (2023-24) reached 11.18 million tonnes compared with 12.12 million tonnes for the same period in the previous year, according to Indian Sugar Mills Association, the industry body of private sugar mills, which has now rebranded itself to Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association. In the backdrop of lower sugarcane output, the government plans to reduce its dependence on the crop for production of ethanol and use maize instead. However, the area sown under maize was 17.53 lakh hectares till December 29, only marginally up from last year’s 17.51 lakh hectares, according to data from the industry.