Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have allocated approximately 1,048 crore liters of ethanol for the Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26 – Cycle 1, out of 1,776 crore liters offered by manufacturers across the country. OMCs had issued a tender for the supply of 1,050 crore liters of ethanol for the same period.
According to the ChiniMandi news portal, in the given allocation, maize holds the largest share at 45.68 percent (around 478.9 crore liters), followed by FCI rice at 22.25 percent (around 233.3 crore litres), sugarcane juice at 15.82 percent (around 165.9 crore liters), B Heavy Molasses at 10.54 percent (around 110.5 crore liters), damaged food grains at 4.54 percent (around 47.6 crore liters), and C Heavy Molasses at 1.16 percent (around 12.2 crore liters).
For the ongoing ESY 2024-25, OMCs have received a total of 904.84 crore liters of ethanol from November to September, with a contracted quantity of 1,131.70 crore liters. Of this total, 598.14 crore liters have been sourced from grains, while 306.70 crore liters have come from sugar-based feedstocks.
As of September 2025, the nationwide ethanol blending percentage stands at 19.17%.
In a recent move, the Indian government has extended support to ethanol producers by permitting sugar mills and distilleries to produce ethanol from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, B-heavy molasses, and C-heavy molasses without any restrictions for ESY 2025-26.
To maintain a balance between ethanol production and sugar availability for domestic use, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), in coordination with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), will continuously monitor the diversion of sugar for ethanol production.
