Indian Distillers Association on the use of maize for ethanol

Bharati Balaji, Deputy Director General of the All India Distillers' Association (AIDA), noted that the ethanol industry uses a hardy grain crop to create value for Indian agricultural resources, as well as to support energy security and rural value chains. According to her, current data indicate the use of a diversified feedstock basket, which includes surplus rice from the FCI (Food Corporation of India), damaged food grain, and sugar-based feedstocks.

According to AIDA information, by the end of August, maize yielded about 345 billion liters of ethanol, FCI surplus rice about 214 billion liters, and damaged food grain about 64 billion liters. These volumes indicate that alternative types of feedstock have ceased to be marginal and are strengthening the supply chain. The total contribution of grain feedstocks amounted to 624 billion liters by the end of August, which is equal to almost 70 percent of the 895 billion liters supplied during this period.

Maize is in demand in many sectors, including food, feed, and industrial ones, so price fluctuations depend on the balance of production, consumption, stocks, logistics, and market demand. Multi-component flexibility of the feedstock base helps adapt to changes in agricultural conditions and maintain production continuity if the availability of one of the components is limited. At the next stage of industry development, it is planned to develop new demand directions, including flex-fuel vehicles, compressed biogas (CBG), and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).