The All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) has addressed a letter dated March 18th, 2024, to the CGM (BioFuels) BPCL, expressing concerns over delays encountered by distillery units in decanting ethanol tanks at depots. According to the letter, the delay in decanting is impeding scheduled dispatches, a matter reported by distilleries nationwide.
Enclosed within the letter to BPCL is a communication from M/s Radico Khaitan (Sitapur-UP) to AIDA, outlining the challenges it faces due to decanting delays. The correspondence highlights the current period’s peak ethanol production in the Ethanol producing industry, resulting in limited ethanol storage capacity. Consequently, stocks are being dispatched without adhering to the indents provided by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
The letter emphasises that the cost of halting tankers is lower than slowing down or ceasing production altogether. “This oversupply presents issues for us on two fronts: firstly, our tankers are left waiting to decant, and secondly, despite having allocated quantities for supply, we are unable to dispatch because depots are requesting that we hold off,” the letter states.
As of March 13th, 2024, the company reported holding 25.65 lakh Litres of Ethanol in stock, against a storage capacity of 50 lakh Litres. With the current production rate averaging approximately 3 lakh BL per day, it is estimated to take just 8.1 days to reach full storage capacity. Therefore, immediate action is requested from OMCs to expedite the decanting process and ensure prompt and regular supply.
The plea from the All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) underscores the urgent need for action to address the bottleneck in ethanol dispatching. With storage capacities nearing their limits and delays hindering scheduled deliveries, collaboration between industry stakeholders and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) is imperative.
