Can grains, maize ethanol fill sugarcane juice void in blending programme?

The ethanol blending programme is now all set to get delayed by a few years, with the sugar situation not looking very encouraging for the next few years

The Centre’s decision on December 7 to stop the production of ethanol from sugarcane juice and syrup in the 2023-24 supply year, which started in November, has put the sector and the blending programme in a quandary, with several commentators questioning whether the target of 20 per cent ethanol blend with petrol by 2025 can be met.

To achieve 20 per cent by 2025, around 15 per cent ethanol needs to be doped with petrol in the 2023-24 supply year, but most experts say after sugarcane juice and syrup are taken away from the matrix (sugarcane juice has emerged as