Production of country liquor in the bottling units of the sugar mills, which are members of the Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI), have seen a 234.71 per cent increase in the 2023-24 financial year in Maharashtra compared to the 2022-23 fiscal.
VSI’s annual performance audit of distilleries showed that mills produced 1,34,800 lakh cases of country liquor in 2023-24, compared to 40,275 lakh cases in the previous fiscal. The rise in production has been attributed to higher demand for country liquor (desi daru), which fetched a good premium for producers.
Every year, VSI publishes the technical performance analysis of distillers attached to member sugar mills. Along with ethanol production, the report looks into the production of rectified spirit (96 per cent content of alcohol) as well as extra neutral alcohol (ENA) among others. Some of the sugar mills even go for production of specialized alcohols, which have utilization in niche industrial usage.
Of the 98 sugar mills whose analysis VSI carried out, only six have bottling units i.e. production plants for country liquor. While rectified spirit is used for manufacturing of country liquor, ENA (which also has 96 per cent alcohol) is used for manufacturing of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). Production, sales and revenue of ethanol and other alcohol derivatives is supervised by the state excise department.
Experts from the sugar industry had various explanations about this phenomenal rise in production of country liquor. One of the reasons, an insider said, could be reduced production of ethanol, following the ban on production of the fuel additive from sugarcane juice and B heavy molasses.
“All alcohol derivatives are produced in the distillery. Ethanol, rectified spirit or ENA are all produced from the same feed stock C molasses. Ethanol is used as the fuel additive for the ambitious ethanol blending program (EBA), while production of other alcohol depends on the supply and demand equation,” said a sugar miller.
Also, given the fact that 2024 was an election year, demand for the country liquor from the sugar industry saw a rise. “The VSI report is based on the report submitted by their member mills. The total production figure would be higher as many private sugar mills also have bottling plants. Production of alcohol has been higher and the reasons are both due to elections as well as higher demand,” said another miller.
Prices of ENA as well as rectified spirit normally remain low when sugar mills are in operation, but once the crushing season closes, their prices rise. Last year, the central government’s ban had seen the price of both RS and ENA increase.
Sanjay Khatal, managing director of the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation, said mills took the decision based on market forces. “The liquor industry offered better prices, which saw mills ensuring that their units do not sit idle,” he said
The total spirit production increased from 10,614.59 lakh litres in 2022-23 to 10,963.35 lakh litres in 2023-24, marking a 3.29 per cent rise. However, capacity utilization fell significantly from 88.09 per cent to 63.69 percent due to a ban on production from sugarcane juice as well as B heavy molasses.
