Barely a week after a sharp increase in ethanol procurement price, sugar mills have started approaching lenders to source working capital to revive idle distillation capacity installed years ago.
India has a total installed ethanol production capacity currently of 2,750 million litres. According to apex industry body, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), nearly a fourth of around 530 existing sugar mills have offered 2,002 million litres of ethanol supply to oil marketing companies (OMCs) against a requirement of 3,136 million litres for 10 per cent blending with petrol. Of the offered quantity, however, OMCs led by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd