ARTICLE 2 #India Maize Updates

Recently, areas across several states in India have faced heavy floods following relentless rains and overflowing rivers. The government has responded by launching official damage assessment drives, particularly focusing on paddy and maize — two staple crops crucial to many farmers.

Mumbai, July 23, 2025 — In a landmark shift for Maharashtra’s biofuel policy, the state government has issued an order permitting distilleries to use food grains such as maize and rice (in addition to sugarcane and molasses) for ethanol production — under a dual‑feed mechanism — for blending into petrol. The directive comes from the state home department and includes a key restriction: ethanol produced from these grains must not be diverted for liquor production.

Recently, Kurt Shultz, Senior Director of Global Strategies at the U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council (USGBC), visited India to generate interest among end-users in purchasing U.S. distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a byproduct of ethanol production, which currently do not have market access in the country but could become a major source of demand for U.S. producers, according to the press release.