India’s cumulative ethanol supplies crossed the 800-crore-litre mark during Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2025-26, according to data compiled by the All India Distillers' Association (AIDA). The country received 93 crore litres of ethanol in July, taking the year-to-date total beyond the landmark figure — although the monthly pace slowed from June, when 103 crore litres were supplied. The broader shift in AIDA’s data is in the feedstock mix: grain-based ethanol now accounts for about three-fourths of monthly supply, displacing sugarcane-based feedstocks as the dominant source.
Monthly Supply Moderates as Grain Share Rises
For July, grain-based feedstocks contributed 71 crore litres, or roughly 76 per cent of supplies, according to AIDA. This was up from a 73 per cent share in June, when grain-based ethanol supplied 75 crore litres out of 103 crore litres. Maize and surplus Food Corporation of India (FCI) grains each contributed 30 crore litres in July, together accounting for nearly 85 per cent of grain-based ethanol during the month. Another 11 crore litres came from damaged food grains, the association reported.
| Metric | June | July |
|---|---|---|
| Total ethanol supplied (crore litres) | 103 | 93 |
| Grain-based (crore litres) | 75 | 71 |
| Grain-based share | ~73% | ~76% |
| Sugarcane-based (crore litres) | 28 | 22 |
| Sugarcane-based share | ~27% | ~24% |
Sugarcane-Based Feedstocks Slip to 24% Share
Sugarcane-based feedstocks fell to 22 crore litres in July, down from 28 crore litres in June, with their share of the monthly mix dropping to about 24 per cent from 27 per cent. Within this category, B-Heavy Molasses contributed 17 crore litres, Sugarcane Juice 4 crore litres and C-Heavy Molasses 1 crore litre, according to AIDA’s monthly tally. The July figures therefore show a supply mix increasingly dominated by grain-based feedstocks, even as the overall volume supplied during the month declined from June.
| Feedstock (July) | Volume (crore litres) |
|---|---|
| Maize | 30 |
| Surplus FCI grains | 30 |
| Damaged food grains | 11 |
| B-Heavy Molasses | 17 |
| Sugarcane Juice | 4 |
| C-Heavy Molasses | 1 |
Bharati Balaji, deputy director general of AIDA, said the 800-crore-litre milestone reflected the scale reached by the domestic ethanol industry.
What is equally significant is the movement in the monthly supply mix. Grain-based ethanol increased its share from around 73 per cent in June to 76 per cent in July, with maize and surplus FCI grains each contributing 30 crore litres.
— Bharati Balaji, deputy director general, AIDA
Demand Creation Becomes the Next Hurdle
AIDA said the industry's production base has expanded and the next challenge is ensuring adequate demand for the available ethanol. "The supply side has demonstrated its ability to respond through multiple feedstocks and a growing production base. The next step is to create sufficient demand for this capacity," Balaji said.
She pointed to higher ethanol blending, Flex-Fuel Vehicles and wider applications of ethanol as possible avenues for increasing utilisation. "The industry has created a much stronger production base, and the priority now should be to ensure that this capacity is utilised efficiently. A clear and predictable framework for expanding ethanol applications will be critical to sustaining investments, supporting the agricultural value chain and advancing India's transition towards cleaner domestic fuels," Balaji added.
According to AIDA, creating additional avenues for ethanol use will become increasingly important as domestic production capacity expands and India pursues its clean mobility and renewable fuel objectives. For commodity traders and procurement teams, the monthly supply data provides a granular view of how much maize, surplus FCI grains and molasses are flowing into the fuel programme — and underscores that the next phase of India’s ethanol story will hinge less on feedstock availability and more on finding enough demand to absorb the capacity already built.
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