Biofuel Drive: Centre Approves 5.2 MT Rice for Ethanol Output.

The Centre recently unveiled its updated policy for selling foodgrains from official reserves under the Open Market Sales Scheme (OMSS), announcing revised prices for wheat and rice. The move aims to manage grain stocks while also supporting the country's ethanol production targets.

Under the new policy, the reserve price for wheat has been set at ₹2,550 per quintal across all categories, marking an increase from last year's rates of ₹2,300-₹2,325. For rice, the prices will vary based on the buyer category.

In a significant allocation for the biofuels sector, the government has earmarked 5.2 million tonnes (mt) of rice for distilleries to produce ethanol during the 2025-26 ethanol supply year (November-October). The fixed rate for this rice has been raised to ₹2,320 per quintal, up from the current ₹2,250.

The Food Ministry's notification also specified that "old/broken rice should be utilised to the extent feasible" for supplying to ethanol distilleries, indicating a focus on using less commercially viable grain for this purpose.

For the current ethanol supply year, 5.2 mt of rice was also allocated to distilleries, of which 1.7 mt has been lifted so far.