Though grains have overtaken sugarcane as the primary feedstock in making ethanol in the 2023-24 supply year, whether they will continue to be so depends on whether India’s average yield of crops such as maize rises quickly. The rising demand for maize and broken grains from the ethanol players has put competing sectors such as poultry and feedstock under stress, as they are already feeling the pinch of a price rise due to the demand jump.
Some reports say the maize-based industry has demanded immediate imports of 5 million tonnes of duty-free imports to tide over the supply
