With the projection of a significant rise in sugar production in the 2025-26 season (October-September) due to surplus monsoon rains, union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari on Thursday urged the sugar industry to diversify their operations and explore ethanol-diesel blending and green hydrogen production.
Gadkari said there is also a need to focus on the production of sugar allied products. He suggested finding alternative uses of sugar, particularly by increasing the use of isobutanol for blending with diesel.
Urgent need for diversification
“India produces more sugar than its requirement…and if sugar production also increases in Brazil, then surplus sugar production will create problems in India also,” Gadkari said at ‘the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Conference 2025’,.
He said tests for 10% blending of isobutanol with diesel had not been highly successful so far, but trials were continuing. “Presently, India imports fossil fuels worth around Rs 22 lakh crore annually, which must be sharply reduced through extensive use of biodiesel made from isobutanol,” Gadkari said.
Biofuels as a solution to surplus and imports
India’s sugar production is expected to rise 18% to 34.90 million tonne (MT) in the 2025-26 season (October-September) compare to current season due to adequate monsoon rains, which would allow exports of 2 MT and 5 MT for ethanol manufacturing, the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said.
Stating that the production cost of sugar is now almost the same as its market price, Gadkari noted “now there is no alternative to reduce production of sugar in India as in the coming days surplus sugar production will create a big problem in the country,” he said.
Gadkari noted that producing ethanol from corn, the prices of the crop have increased, going up to Rs 2,800/quintal from Rs 1,200/quintal earlier. According to official estimates, farmers have received around Rs 42,000 crore in additional income due to an increase in corn or maize cultivation under the ethanol blending programme.
Food Minister Prahlad Joshi speaking at the same conference said the Indian sugar sector should explore expanding biofuel demand by exploring exports potential of bio-fuels. Joshi said in 2014, he said India’s ethanol blending in petrol was 1.5% and today it is 20% , a 13-fold increase.
Meanwhile, food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra, said ISMA projected sugar output at around 35 million tonnes, though the government would come out with its own assessment in the coming months. “Though we would consider opening up exports, whether it can actually be done will depend on firm numbers,” Chopra said on the sidelines of the conference.
India should allow exports of 2 MT of sugar in the 2025-26 marketing year (October-September) as the country is set to produce surplus, Gautam Goel, president, ISMA said.
After restricting the sweetener exports in 2023-24 season, the government in January, 2025 had allowed the exports of one MT of sugar in the ongoing 2024-25 season, after taking into consideration domestic availability and diversion towards ethanol production.