India is determined to move towards a positive approach of alternative fuels to lower its dependence on imported fuels and to move towards green energy.
The country is betting on various alternatives and the Indian sugar industry is proving to be a trailblazer by maximizing ethanol production from sugarcane based raw materials that would help in achieving India’s ambitious plan of moving towards flex fuel vehicles.
The next-gen of the Indian sugar industry seems to be enthralled with the sugar industry becoming the energy industry for the Nation and is gearing up to lead this green fuel movement robustly.
We recently spoke to Ms. Avantika Saraogi – Promoter, Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) to know how she being part of this “next-gen” lineage sees the Indian sugar industry move ahead.
She commented, “I think that the future of the industry is in great shape, and I think that sugarcane is the new oil, all while being a biological and sustainable alternative to its fossil based predecessor. I believe that the future is limitless and technologies are developing rapidly and this will favor the industry and all its stakeholders for years to come.”
Sharing views on the Indian sugar production and the impact she sees in the near term on sugar pricing, she said, “Sugar output in the current season is expected to be 40 million tonnes with a potential diversion of 4.5 million tonnes towards Ethanol. Another 6 to 8 million tonnes is likely to be exported this season. Domestic consumption is expected to be 27.5 to 28.0 million tonnes. Closing inventory is expected to be 5.5 million tonnes. Owing to robust and timely Government policies, the country has been managing the sugar stocks well. So, we are rightly poised for firm domestic sugar prices!
Also if we look at the international scenario, Brazil is likely to increase sugar production owing to adjustment in domestic gasoline prices. Thailand is also expected to report higher production. Whereas China and the European Union are likely to report lower production.
We expect that demand will stay robust till March 2023 however after that as the next crop from Brazil starts coming in to the market, the price may come down .Currently it is expected that till March 2023, global price may stay within 19 to 20 c/lb levels at least ,if not more on account of a short term tightness in the global trade flow.”
On being asked how she sees India moving forward on the policy front with progressiveness on the ethanol blending program and cane & sugar pricing strategy she answered, “The Indian Government has been proactively announcing policies which favor the millers to help them control the inventory and pay to the farmers on time. Be it on the Ethanol front wherein to achieve the 20% blending targets by 2025 announced the interest subvention schemes, announcement of remunerative prices for various sources of raw materials to enhance production.
Also, the Government is assisting in dialogues and meeting with various Ministerial Groups to assist in smoother off-take of Ethanol and for timely changes required in the vehicles to be launched for achieving 20% blending targets. On the export front wherein policies are being announced to take care of the excess inventory in the system. Also, keeping a check on the domestic inventory by way of a monthly release mechanism.
Announcement of sugarcane price in the form of FRP (Fair & Remunerative Price) which is applicable in some states and in others it’s the SAP (State Advised Price) which is being announced by the State Governments.
Government has been extremely rational while declaring the FRP. Rationally, the Government is also examining the implementation of RSF (Revenue Sharing Formula), a practice followed world over.”
“One change I think we would like to see is in Policy, so that we can be at par with the global scenario; the implementation of RSF (Revenue Sharing Formula) and PSF (Price Stabilization Fund) for the benefit of the farmers and the millers.” Avantika further added.
The sugar industry is being the flag bearer of Make in India because of the large-scale sugarcane cultivation and has the potential to become one of the world’s major ethanol producers. Commenting on how Balrampur Chini Mills is aligning with the aim of the Government of India and the sugar sector to meet the objective of 20% ethanol blending in petroleum by 2025, “At Balrampur we have announced capex for doubling our Ethanol capacity from 520 KLPD to 1050 KLPD. One of our plants at Gularia is already operating at 200 KLPD which was expanded from 160 KLPD in January 2022.
One greenfield project of 320 KLPD at Maizapur is almost complete and is expected to commence commercial production from November 2022. Another 330 KLPD Ethanol expansion programme at our Balrampur unit is also underway and is likely to commence production from December 2022. Post these expansions Company would be in a position to produce 35 crore BL of Alcohol.”
We asked Avantika how BCML is exploring sustainability of farm level and mill level basis, she answered, “The Company had drawn out a comprehensive cane development programme involving nearly 750 field workers, who will not only monitor cane growing activity at the field level but will engage with farmers using smartphone-driven technology; they will not only engage once but on a regular basis so that any deviation from the established mean can be addressed with speed.
Besides, the Company is investing more aggressively in the area of cane development and increased cane planting, giving it the priority it deserves, all while keeping crop rotation and soil health in mind as well. We believe that these efforts will help create a comprehensive de-risking framework that makes it possible to get away with a limited decline in cane output during challenging years and maximize output during the favorable years.
Apart from this due to future labor availability issues, we have introduced a lot of mechanization at the field level, so that when the time comes, a switchover is easy for the grower. Also, we highly encourage moving away from chemical fertilizers/insecticides and more toward mechanical and biological means at the field level, this not only reduces cost of cultivation for growers, but also increases soil health and makes the cane crop healthier for consumption as well.”
