New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing debate over the policy of mixing ethanol in petrol and the rising prices of sugar, oil companies have released new rates of petrol and diesel on 22 August. Common people are currently relieved because there has been no change in fuel prices in major cities of the country. At the same time, the government has also rejected the relationship being reported between the prices of ethanol and sugar.
On August 22, the prices of petrol and diesel remained stable as before. In the capital Delhi, petrol is being sold at Rs 102.12 per liter and diesel at Rs 95.20 per liter. The price of petrol in Mumbai is Rs 111.21, while diesel is Rs 97.83 per liter. The last major change in the prices of petrol and diesel took place on May 25. At that time, oil marketing companies had increased the price of petrol by Rs 2.61 and diesel by Rs 2.71 per liter. There has been no significant change in prices since then.
Crude oil prices rise
There was an increase in the prices of crude oil in the international market this week. According to Reuters, amid tensions between Iran and America, Brent futures rose by 6.39 percent and American crude rose by 5.66 percent. Brent crude increased by 61 cents or 0.65 percent and closed at $ 94.39 per barrel. At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) remained bullish for the sixth consecutive trading session and it increased by 23 cents to reach $ 87.06 per barrel.
Government's clarification on ethanol policy
The government on Friday refuted the claim that the use of sugar for ethanol production was being cited as the reason for rising sugar prices. According to the government, the share of sugar used in making ethanol was about 12 percent in 2022-23, which has come down to about 9 percent in 2025-26. Apart from this, about 75 percent of the ethanol produced in the country is now being prepared from grains, especially maize.
Many reasons why sugar becomes expensive
The government said that there are many reasons behind the increase in sugar prices. These include lower than expected domestic production, increasing demand before festivals, damage to sugarcane crop due to weather and reduction in global supply. In some parts, hoarding and betting have also been cited as the reason. India generally produces around 320-340 lakh tonnes of sugar every year, while the domestic consumption is around 280-290 lakh tonnes.