Government Allows Nafed, NCCF To Sell Maize To Ethanol Makers At Base Rate Of Rs 2,291/Quintal

To ensure uninterrupted supply of maize for ethanol makers, the government has allowed cooperatives Nafed and NCCF to sell maize at a base price of Rs 2,291 per quintal to distilleries this year.

Nafed and National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India will procure maize at a minimum support price of Rs 2,090 per quintal in the 2023-24 crop year and supply to the distilleries at a mutually agreed rate of Rs 2,291 per quintal, a senior food ministry official told PTI.

The move aims to ensure distilleries get uninterrupted supply of the feedstock for ethanol production, the official said.

The country's maize production is pegged at 22.48 million tonne for the 2023-24 crop year (July-June), as per the first advance estimate of the agriculture ministry.

The government is promoting the use of maize as an alternative to sugar to increase ethanol production and ensure sufficient supply of the sweetener in the market.

In December last year, the government directed sugar mills not to use cane juice for production of ethanol as the country's sugar production is expected to decline in the 2023-24 marketing year (October-September).

Meanwhile, the oil marketing companies have raised the procurement price of ethanol made from maize by Rs 5.79 per litre to encourage its production of blending with petrol.