Key Points
New Delhi: As the government gears up to procure maize for ethanol production, its prices have shot up in the main producing regions, leading to fears of reduced state procurement...
The increased prices can reduce the procurement by government agencies which have already made commitments to distilleries for ethanol production, said a senior government official, adding that the central agencies have already signed memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with over 40 distilleries that produce the clean fuel...
As market price stays elevated, farmers may prefer to sell to private traders over government channels which procures at a minimum support price (MSP) of 2,090 per quintal for kharif season (2023-24)...
The government estimates production of maize to drop to 32.4 mt from the previous year's 38 mt according to the second advance estimates issued by the agriculture and farmers' welfare ministry which traders said is insufficient to meet the demand once distilleries start producing ethanol with it...
With the government planning to procure maize federally, farmers have planted more of it, moving away from other crops, taking the rabi (winter) sowing of the cereal to 20.51 lakh hectares till January 12, up by 4% against 19.71 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year, according to government data, across major growing states - Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh..
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