Rices of extra neutral alcohol faces headwinds’
Prices of Extra tral Alcohol (ENA) may some headwinds as the rnment pushes towards its et of blending of 10% fuele ethanol with petrol by , said Radico Khaitan, the try’s largest manufacturer dian-made foreign liquor. is expected that in FY -21, about 325 crore litres hanol is likely to be supto the oil marketing comes (OMCS) to achieve 8.5% ding levels.
is likely that the governt will achieve 10% blending tan.
Like ethanol, ENA is also a byproduct of the sugar industry and is formed from molasses, resulting from refining sugarmaterial for making alcoholic beverages and it is derived from different sources—sugarcane molasses and grains.
It is widely used in the prosonal care products such as perfumes, toiletries, hair spray, etc.
However, Radico Khaitan maker of 8PM Whisky, Magic Moments Vodka, Rampur Single Malt Whisky and Jaisalmer Gin—said it is largely self-dependent for its ENA requirements due to owning a significant distillation capacity of 160 million litres.
“This also provides a cushion against fluctuations in the ENA prices,” it added.
Moreover, Radico Khaitan, formerly known as Rampur Distillery, also does not expect any significant impact on margins due to hike in commodity focussed on premiumisation,” it said.
In June, rime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the deadline for achieving 20% ethanol-blending with petrol was pushed to 2025 in the country. The government set a target of reaching 10% ethanol-blending in petrol by 2022 last year, and aimed to mix 20% of ethanol mixed with 90 per cent of diesel by 2030.
Earlier this year, the latter target was brought forward to 2025. Currently, about 8.5% ethanol is mixed with petrol as against 1-1.5%, PM Modi said, adding that higher ethanol blending over the years has led