Commerce Ministry Rejects Reports Of US Ethanol Imports For Fuel Blending, Says Policy Remains Domestic

New Delhi, August 6: The Commerce Ministry on Thursday refuted claims in the media suggesting that India is importing and intends to import large quantities of ethanol from the United States (US) for fuel blending, terming them "baseless and factually incorrect".

As per the domestic policy framework, ethanol used for fuel blending under the Ethanol Blended with Petrol (EBP) Programme is sourced entirely from domestic producers. There is no import of ethanol for fuel blending from the US, a ministry statement said.

Further, no concessions or commitments relating to the import of ethanol for fuel blending from the US have been made in the India-US trade discussions, it added.

Accordingly, any suggestion of a policy change to permit large-scale imports of fuel ethanol from the US is misleading. India’s fuel blending programme and ethanol procurement continue to be governed solely by India’s domestic policy requirements, the ministry stated.

According to the government, the EBP Programme has emerged as a key pillar of India's energy transition and biofuel strategy, which has saved the country foreign exchange by reducing crude oil imports and strengthened farmers' incomes through new market opportunities.

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From 2014-15 up to May 2026, the ethanol blending programme has resulted in a saving of over Rs 1.90 lakh crore in foreign exchange by substituting 310 lakh metric tonnes of imported crude oil and has generated additional earnings for farmers of more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore. Besides, it has cut carbon emissions of over 930 lakh metric tonnes, as per the statement.

The government has highlighted that India imports close to 88.5% of the crude oil it consumes, which explains a great deal about why ethanol blending sits so high on the policy agenda.

Every barrel of oil bought from abroad exposes the country to price swings and supply shocks that are entirely outside its control. Ethanol produced from Indian sugarcane, maize and rice offers a way to blunt that exposure using resources grown at home, the statement said.

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