India’s GAEL to set up corn-based ethanol plant

29 August 2007 15:10  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--India’s Gujarat Ambuja Exports Limited (GAEL) is planning to set up an Indian rupees (Rs) 960m ($23.5m) corn processing plant to produce ethanol at Nashik in the state of Maharashtra, a senior company official said on Wednesday.

"The plant would process 500 tonnes/day of maize, of which 160 tonnes/day will be used for ethanol production while the remaining would be used for producing liquid glucose, starch, dextrose and sorbitol," said Kaushik C Khona, chief financial officer, GAEL.

The plant is expected to become operational from the beginning of 2008, and the company expects to produce 100 kilolitres/day of ethanol.

GAEL would procure the feedstock directly from the farmers in Nashik at around Rs7,250/tonne, cheaper than the prevalent market rate, Khona said.

“If the company procures corn from the open market, it would cost around Rs7,550/tonne,” he added.

“GAEL would also produce extra neutral alcohol (ENA), which is primarily used for manufacturing liquor, as an alternative to ethanol, in case the latter does not fetch a reasonable price," Khona said.

GAEL is an agro-processing and trading firm, which is focused on exports. The company manufactures soya, maize and castor products and also produces cotton yarn.

($1 = Rs40.8/€1 = Rs55.8)

By: Rajiv Ranjan
+65 6780 4359

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