Sugar mills can get relief for ethanol production, what is the government’s plan

Sugar mills may get relief from the government in the coming time. Actually, the government can increase the allocation of sugar for ethanol production. If the government decides to increase the allocation, sugar will be available to the mills to produce additional ethanol. Last year itself, considering the expected decline in sugar production, the government had imposed a limit on the use of sugar for the production of ethanol so that the supply of sugar in the market could be maintained for the common people. Ethanol production is a profitable deal for everyone from sugar mills to the government. In fact, sugar mills get additional income with the help of ethanol, while the government is trying to reduce its dependence on crude imports by increasing the share of ethanol in fuel.

ISMA has revised the estimates regarding the country’s sugar production in mid-March itself. ISMA has estimated in March that sugar production in the country could be 34 million tonnes in the 2023-24 season. Earlier in January itself, the production estimate of 33 million tonnes of sugar was given. Anticipating a shortfall in production, the government had set a limit of 17 lakh tonnes on the quantity of sugar used for the production of ethanol.  This means that this season only a maximum of 17 lakh tonnes of sugar will be used in the production of ethanol. This step was taken so that the country’s demand and the closing stock limit by the end of the year could be met. Due to the possibility of sugar production being higher than expected, the government is expected to approve additional sugar for ethanol also.

There was a sharp rise in sugar stock in Tuesday’s trading. Shri Renuka Sugar has increased by more than 7 percent. Whereas Rajshree Sugars has registered an increase of about 6 percent. The stock of EID Parry has seen a rise of more than 5 percent.