India's ethanol producers unhappy with delay

Indias ethanol manufacturers are unhappy with the delay in the commitment of petroleum firms to purchase ethanol for blending with gasoline. Ranjit Singh Mothite-Patil, vice-chairman of the All India Ethanol Manufacturers’ Association, said, if ethanol is blended up to 5%, petrol can become cheaper by Rs1 (US$0.02) per liter and up to 10% by Rs1.99 (US$0.05) per liter. “In fact, we demand an additional Rs2 (US$0.05) per liter for ethanol as molasses is priced at around Rs23 (US$0.54) per liter, to encourage production of ethanol instead of molasses,” he added. There are 80 ethanol manufacturing units in Maharashtra, including 50 in the cooperative sector. (July 22, 2008)