The All India Distillers’ Association (AIDA) has written a letter to the Government on 28th November 2023, representing its views on proposed guidelines for manufacturing ethanol from various feedstock. The letter written to the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, AIDA follows an official meeting between DFPD officials and AIDA on 21st November, where the guidelines were discussed and views were sought.
According to sources, the letter mentions two important points- feedstock changeover time and separate storage tanks based on feedstock.
AIDA has said that unlike in the case of molasses-based distillery units, grain-based distillery units have to produce ethanol from rice and maize. The distillery units have to schedule production based on the price and availability. Hence the Association has recommended that for grain-based units, the guidelines for advance notice of production may be reduced to 7 days’ notice, instead of 21 days.
The Association also feels that for grain-based distilleries, the guideline for separate storage tanks for each feedstock is impossible. It says that changes in layouts will require multiple approvals from various State Governments, which will take a couple of years for all units to get permission. This will increase inefficiencies in the storage facilities as distillery units will have to decant a storage tank to nil before filling it with the next batch of feedstock.
AIDA in the letter has said that there is no requirement for separate feedstock storage, and the entire process from feedstock to final product is documented and controlled by the local excise or other concerned officials. The documentation would be sufficient.
