Major Indian sugar producers push back against sugar as ethanol feedstock despite calling for permission

In India, the Economic Times newspaper reports that despite more than 14 million metric tons of sugar stocks that are weighing down the national sugar industry, mills in Uttar Pradesh are not interested in converting excess sugar into ethanol despite the government deregulating feedstock rules to allow it. Even Maharashtra is on the fence about using sugar as ethanol feedstock even though its state industry was among those pushing for the policy shift. Converting 1 ton of sugar into 600 liters of ethanol would get mills the ethanol equivalent of the prevailing sugar market price.