Report Provides Update of India’s Ethanol Industry
by Ann Bailey (Ethanol Producer Magazine) A decline in Indian sugarcane acres during the past two growing seasons is expected to result in a decline in the country’s ethanol production in 2017, a report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network said. The recently released GAIN report estimates ethanol production in India will decline 8 percent to 1.9 billion liters next year.
The fuel ethanol national average blending rate will increase to 2 percent, up from the current estimated blending rate of 1.9 percent, GAIN said. Ethanol is expected to replace 700 million liters of gasoline as a result of the increase in national average blending rate. The average blending rate now is pegged at 1.9 percent as parastatal companies are expected to blend 600 million liters of ethanol with gasoline.
India will import 440 million liters of ethanol this year if market conditions are typical, GAIIN estimated. Import volumes will further increase to 600 million liters during the out-year to boost local supplies.
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More than 96 percent of India’s import demand has been met by the U.S., Brazil, Spain, Bhutan and Pakistan during the past decade. READ MORE and MORE (Platts) and MORE (Economic Times)