Maharashtra Likely to Support Sugar Mills in Setting up Ethanol Fuel Pumps

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July 17, 2019

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by Shiv Kumar (Tribune News Service) Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Transport Nitin Gadkari has proposed that sugar mills set up ethanol fuel pumps in their premises. The sugar co-operatives are under pressure because of unsold stocks and are already mulling switching over to large-scale production of ethanol provided there is policy support.

“Sugar mills which are producing ethanol can sell it directly to customers if there is demand,” an official from the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation (MSCSFF) said.

However, without enough pumps retailing ethanol there wouldn’t be enough takers for vehicles running on this fuel.

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Gadkari’s remarks at the launch of a two-wheeler run on ethanol come at time when the sugar mills in the state are mulling conversion of their excess stocks into fuel.

The minister suggested that two-wheelers running on ethanol be first sold in the vicinity of sugar mills before being rolled out in other parts of the country. He further suggested that sugar mills dispense ethanol to vehicle owners from their own pumps.

One option suggested is the setting up of a chain of ethanol fuel pumps in selected towns over the next few years even as manufacturers of two-wheelers target buyers in the area.

At a recent sugar industry event in Maharashtra, Gadkari also suggested that the central government was unlikely to help with policy decisions in dealing with excess sugar production. READ MORE

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