PUNE/KOLKATA/LUCKNOW: Sugar manufacturers are waiting for a government notification which will direct oil companies to buy ethanol at a fixed price for six months.
Indian Sugar Mills Association president Vivek Saraogi said, “Sugar manufacturers have committed ethanol to the government on a long-term basis at a price to be fixed by an expert committee.” He said the industry can supply ethanol for up to 10% doping based on a normal sugar production estimated at 24-25 million tonnes. At an emergency meeting in Mumbai, the Ethanol Manufacturers Association, the Maharashtra Distillers Association and the Sakhar Sangh, the apex body of Maharashtra’s cooperative sugar industry, said neither the petroleum ministry nor the oil companies have made any move to take the government decision further.
The decision by the central government to fix the price of ethanol at Rs 27 per litre ex-factory is for the July-December 2010 period, after which it comes up for review. Narendra Murkumbi, vice chairman and MD, Shree Renuka Sugars, said, “The sugar industry is committed to supplying ethanol as long as the prices are viable and it is a long-term contract.” OP Dhanuka, CMD, Riga Sugar Co, added, “Most sugar manufacturers have stopped production of ethanol in the absence of buyers as the government is yet to take a call on the ethanol price.”
Industry players said liquor and chemical industry lobbies are opposed to blending as they fear that any diversion of molassses to fuel-ethanol production will push up raw material prices. The argument, sugar industry sources say, does not hold good.
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