Ethanol output may decline 16pc in current sugar season:Govt

New Delhi. India's ethanol production is likely to decline by 16 per cent to 2,590 million litres in the current sugar season on account an lower output of the sweetener, Parliament was informed today. The country is estimated to have produced 3,070 million litres of alcohol in 2011-12 sugar season (October-September), Food Minister K V Thomas said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. "According to industry sources, the estimated quantity of alcohol produced during 2010-11 and 2011-12 has been about 2,630 million litres and 3,070 million litres, respectively and the estimated production of alcohol during 2012-13 sugar season is likely to be about 2,590 million litres," he added. Ethanol or alcohol production is linked to the production of molasses, which is a by-product produced during making sugar. Molasses output depends upon the quantity of sugarcane crushed and sugar produced, the minister said. India's sugar output is expected to fall by 13 per cent to 23 million tonnes in the current season as compared to 26.3 million tonnes in the 2011-12 sugar season, Thomas added. "Accordingly, the lower production of sugar would also result in reduced production of alcohol and other by-products," he said. Last month, the government approved mandatory mixing of five per cent ethanol in petrol from December 1, 2012. It also decided that the price of bio-ethanol to be mixed with petrol, would be decided by oil-marketing companies and its suppliers. The proposal moved by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is expected to help India save about 100 crore litres of petrol annually and also help in reducing carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions by around 15 per cent. States such as Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are the largest producers of ethanol in the country.