India may have hard time selling rice stocks for ethanol production due to high prices

In India, Cogencis news agency reports that the government’s plan to boost use of rice held in national stores as feedstock for ethanol production may backfire because the price it is likely to set will be more expensive than what distillers can secure on the spot market. Currently, nearly 25 million metric tons of rice are being held in government storage against a statutory requirement to store 10.3 million tons but the proposed price for rice is nearly 1,000 rupees per 100 kg higher than current spot market prices.