Liquor sales drop 15 pc after price hike

BENGALURU: The sale of liquor has witnessed a drop of 15 per cent, mainly due to the steep hike in prices. Due to this, regular consumers of alcohol are are either buying less or avoiding consumption, leading to a a noticeable dip in the sale of Indian Made Liquor (IML). However, there has not been such huge variation in beer sales.

The Karnataka State Beverages Corporation Ltd has recorded a drop in sales and consequently, revenue. Over the last four months, the monthly revenue was Rs 2,500 crore which dropped to Rs 962 crore in August. The excise revenue in April was Rs 2,308 crore, in May Rs 2,607 crore, in June Rs 3,549 crore and Rs 2,980 crore in July.

About 25.50 lakh boxes of IML and 10.34 lakh boxes were sold in August last year while 21.87 lakh boxes of IML and 12.52 lakh boxes of beer were sold in August so far this year. An average of 61 lakh boxes were sold every month whereas only 18.8 lakh boxes were sold in August due to price hike.

The prices of liquor were increased by 20 per cent on all the 18 slabs in the recent budget. Consequently, the price has increased by Rs 10 to Rs 20 per peg and Rs 50 to Rs 200 per bottle. As a result, regular drinkers are now shifting to lower priced brands — scotch drinkers are moving to premier brands while premium brand lovers are shifting to regular brands — thereby affecting revenue collection.