Seeking relief for struggling sugar mills, National Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation of India president Harshvardhan Patil has urged the Centre to enhance the ethanol quota by 600 million litres.
He was speaking at a press conference held after a meeting of the federation’s board of directors in Pune on Tuesday.
Addressing the media, Patil said the NFCSF has asked the central government to raise the ethanol quota produced from sugar-based B-heavy molasses by 600 million litres, stating that such a move would provide much-needed relief to sugar mills facing financial stress.
He added that the federation has also been pressing for an increase in the minimum selling price of sugar from ₹31 to ₹41 per kilogram, a demand that has been pending for the past six years.
Sharing data on ethanol supply, Patil said oil companies floated tenders for 1,048 crore litres of ethanol for the 2025–26 ethanol year, which runs from November 2025 to October 2026. Of this, grain-based ethanol accounted for 759 crore litres, or 72 percent, while ethanol supplied by the sugar industry stood at 289 crore litres, or 28 percent. Actual supplies so far include 240 crore litres from grain-based sources, representing 63 percent, and 88 crore litres from molasses-based ethanol, or 37 percent.
Patil said oil companies are increasingly giving preference to grain-based ethanol while allocating supply contracts. He noted that the ethanol blending programme was originally launched to benefit nearly five crore small sugarcane farmers across the country. However, the sugar industry’s share in ethanol supply, which once stood at around 90 percent, has now fallen to just 28 percent, creating serious challenges for sugar mills.
Given this imbalance, Patil said it is essential to raise the sugar-based ethanol quota from available B-heavy molasses by 600 million litres. He reiterated that the federation has conveyed this demand to the central government, stressing that it would help stabilise the sugar sector and protect the interests of cane growers.
Patil welcomed the government’s recent decision to increase the sugar export quota by 500,000 metric tonnes. However, he said exports are unlikely to pick up as international sugar prices are currently around ₹3,450 to ₹3,500 per quintal, which is lower than domestic prices. In such a situation, he said, increasing the ethanol quota from surplus B-heavy molasses would be a more effective way to support struggling sugar mills.
The meeting was attended by federation directors Jayprakash Dandegaonkar, Vijaysinh Mohite Patil, Narendra Chavan, Ravindra Panda, Virendra Rana, and managing director Prakash Naiknavare.
