In Indonesia, Indonesia Business Post reported that the country’s biofuel industry is encouraged to take advantage of a massive surplus of molasses − an underutilized sugarcane by-product − with the potential to significantly boost domestic ethanol output.
The report noted that the Indonesian Association of Spirit and Ethanol Producers (APSENDO) revealed that around 1 million tons of molasses remain unused, despite national production reaching 1.9 million tons in 2025. Only 900,000 tons are currently being absorbed by industry.
“Every four kilograms of molasses can produce one liter of ethanol. This means there is a potential 250,000 kiloliters of unoptimized ethanol, outside the food sector,” APSENDO chairman Izmirta Rachman said.
He highlighted Indonesia’s weak molasses export performance, which has remained sluggish due to the absence of a structured trading system. As a result, excess molasses often accumulates at farms and sugar mills.
Izmirta emphasized that molasses should be leveraged more aggressively as a biofuel feedstock, the report added.
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