US grains body asks India to allow ethanol imports to lower crude oil import bil

Allowing imports of ethanol can help lower the country’s crude oil import bill, according to the US Grains Council (USGC), a global biofuel promoting organisation.

“To reduce the price of petrol and reduce the nation’s energy import bill and save foreign exchange, India should immediately focus on achieving a 10 per cent ethanol blend across the country. This can be accomplished by supplementing domestic production with ethanol imports to achieve the necessary blend rate on a consistent basis,” said Mr. Mike Dwyer, Chief Economist at the USGC.

At present, the National Policy on Biofuels 2018 does not allow imports of ethanol for blending purposes. In an statement, the USGC said, “India should leverage the experience of other countries that have undertaken higher ethanol blends, such as the Philippines, where a two-tier procurement system transformed its biofuel value chain to achieve a 10 percent blend mandate – thereby increasing investment in the industry, creating employment, and growing its domestic industry within a decade.”