India puts food before fuel as El Niño dents ethanol ambitions
India curbed sugar and corn use for ethanol as prices hit record highs, undermining prime minister Narendra Modi’s plan to cut oil imports.
India's ethanol blending target in petrol may drop below the official 20% level due to a severe El Niño weather pattern affecting corn and sugarcane crops. The lowest monsoon rainfall in over a decade has led to lower yields, causing food prices to surge and prompting the government to prioritize food security over biofuel production.
This shift could weaken Prime Minister Narendra Modi's E20 initiative, which has saved India nearly 2 trillion rupees in oil imports since 2014. With feedstock prices soaring and record-high rice costs, ethanol blending may fall to around 15% in the current supply year, down from the previous 20%. This could leave India more dependent on foreign crude oil, exacerbating energy price volatility.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
