India maintains feedstock rice cost for ethanol
India will hold flat the price ethanol distilleries must pay for rice feedstocks during the 2021-22 fiscal year ending 31 March, in a move targeting to support grain-based ethanol production and farmers' incomes.
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) will continue to supply excess rice to distilleries at a cost steady from this year at 2,000 rupees/quintal ($270/t) during 2021-22, it announced on 1 May.
The decision was made to assure the industry of price stability and availability of the raw material, in a bid to spur investment in grain-based distilleries. To date, 422 new distillery projects have registered under India's Department of Food and Public Distribution loan aid scheme, of which around 200 plan to use grain-based feedstocks.
The government is keen to boost the number of distilleries using grains like rice for ethanol instead of sugarcane feedstocks typical in the country, to drive more even output and blending of the biofuel nationwide beyond key sugarcane-producing states Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
India fixed the ex-mill price oil companies must pay for ethanol made from surplus FCI rice at Rs56.87/litre during the current December 2020-November 2021 supply year, above the price for product made from C-heavy molasses and damaged food grains but below that for B-heavy molasses and unrefined sugar feedstocks.
Encouraging distilleries to divert sugar, sugarcane juice and sugarcane syrup directly to ethanol production remains the government's ethanol policy priority, as it attempts to draw down the country's sugar glut.
It aims to blend 7.5-8pc ethanol in the gasoline pool nationwide during the 2020-21 supply year, up from around 5pc during 2019-20. The country is targeting a blend rate of 10pc by 2022 and 20pc by 2025.
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HSFO demand supports Rotterdam 1Q bunker sales
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G7 countries put timeframe on 'unabated' coal phase-out
G7 countries put timeframe on 'unabated' coal phase-out
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Australia's 2024-25 wheat, barley exports to fall: USDA
Australia's 2024-25 wheat, barley exports to fall: USDA
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Norway's marine bio mandate ineffective: Marine market
Norway's marine bio mandate ineffective: Marine market
London, 29 April (Argus) — Norway's 6pc advanced biodiesel mandate for marine, which came into effect in October, has done little to incentivise the uptake of physical marine biodiesel blends at Norwegian ports, market participants told Argus . As of October 2023, bunker fuel suppliers in Norway must ensure that a minimum of 6pc, on a volume per volume basis, of the total amount of liquid fuels sold per year consists of advanced biofuel in the form of fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) or hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). The mandate is only applicable to bunker fuels sold in the domestic market, impacting vessels operating between Norwegian ports as well as local tugboats, offshore supply barges, and fishing vessels. Market participants confirmed that the mandate operates on a mass-balance system at the moment, such that the mandate could also be met by supplying the equivalent amount of biofuels into the inland road sector. Consequently, participants said that very few buyers end up purchasing the physical marine biofuel blends, and instead marine fuel suppliers have had to utilise the mass-balance system to meet their mandated targets. This has resulted in a premium added onto conventional bunker fuels in Norwegian ports of about $56-60/t on average. A market participant described the current system as "like a CO2 tax", with most marine fuel buyers paying the premium rather than purchasing a marine biodiesel blend directly. Participants told Argus that HVO is popular and frequently used in road transport because of its superior specifications compared with biodiesel and its generally low freezing point. Norway's HVO imports typically originate from the US — Kpler data shows that about 68.4pc of HVO flows into Norway have originated from there this year. This is mainly because Norway does not apply the same anti-dumping measures as EU nations, which typically put a substantial premium on US-origin biodiesel imports. Norwegian shipowners going internationally are exempt from being liable to the additional premium imposed by the mandate. But participants told Argus that they usually have to pay the premium and then claim it back from the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA). The system may change very soon. Market participants told Argus that the NEA is considering some changes to the mandate requirement. A gradual move away from the mass balance system is being discussed, in favour of a physical product mandate that would require biofuel blends to be sold to bunker fuel buyers. Further, a switch from an annual reporting system to a monthly one could also be on the cards. NEA is also reportedly looking at mandating the availability of marine biodiesel at all Norwegian ports and biodiesel fuel reconciliation at the tank rather than terminal. By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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