In an attempt to address an ongoing sugar-related dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) between India and Brazil, the South American nation has extended an offer to share its ethanol production technology with India, reported Business Standard.
The proposal from Brazil emphasizes that ethanol production technology could enable India to efficiently convert surplus sugar into ethanol.
This offer presents a potential solution that could enable India to utilize its excess sugar production and ease competition with Brazil in the global sugar market. Brazil stands as the world’s largest producer of both sugarcane and ethanol, renowned for its advanced ethanol production technology, and is also the world’s leading sugar exporter. India, on the other hand, holds the position of the world’s second-largest sugar producer.
The significance of this proposal lies in India’s ambitions to progressively increase the proportion of ethanol blended into automotive fuels, consequently reducing its dependency on imported crude oil. By adopting Brazil’s flex technology, which entails ethanol blending, India could effectively address both its fuel concerns and the management of surplus sugar, ensuring that the surplus sugar does not flood the global markets and impact worldwide prices.
An official stated, “Brazil has a flex technology. They do ethanol blending. That technology is good for India too. Brazil has argued that India can use its surplus sugar for ethanol production and through that India can deal with its fuel issue also and that surplus sugar would not enter into the global markets and not impact world prices.” The official also revealed that discussions are underway regarding this proposal.
