India’s latest ethanol tender cuts the price paid for maize-based fuel as poultry and ethanol groups press competing claims to grain amid drought surveys and a decline in planted area.
On Oct. 14, Maharashtra declared 304 talukas drought-affected and directed officials to assess crop damage. The order gave no estimate of maize losses. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said farmers had sown maize on 9.109 million hectares by Sept. 4, 2026, compared with 9.408 million hectares by the same date in 2025. Those area figures track planting, not harvest losses.
Press Trust of India reported that Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), acting for India’s oil marketing companies, issued a tender for about 11 billion liters for the supply year running from November 2026 through October 2027. The tender excludes ethanol made from sugarcane juice, sugar, sugar syrup and B-heavy molasses. Its reported price for maize-based ethanol is ₹68.86 per liter, down from ₹71.86.
The Economic Times reported that the National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) told the government in a letter last week that poultry feed typically uses 55% to 60% of India’s maize. The same report said the Grain Ethanol Manufacturers Association (GEMA) warned that the lower incentive could make maize-based ethanol a harder business to sustain and put pressure on the market it offers farmers.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said maize accounted for 42.6% of ethanol production in ethanol supply year 2023–24 and 35.96% in supply year 2025–26. Over the same period, the share from Food Corporation of India rice rose from 0.02% to 24.64%. The ministry said producers shift among approved feedstocks as supplies change. The ministry describes the blending program as a way to reduce reliance on imported crude and support farmers, and says FCI grain is approved for ethanol only after food-security needs are met and a surplus is certified.
InfraLens lists Oct. 29 as the tender’s bid deadline.
