THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala’s dependence on other states does not end with daily food essentials like rice, wheat, meat or vegetables.As per the statistics tabled by the Excise Department in the assembly, the state imports around 40 per cent of beer and 7 per cent of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) it consumes from other Indian states. What makes this significant is the fact that beer and IMFL sales in Kerala registered a growth in the 2018-19 fiscal year in comparison to 2017-18.
Let’s talk numbers
In 2018-19, around 121.12 lakh cases of beer were sold, a 5% increase than 2017-18, when 115.42 lakh cases of beer were sold. Moreover, outlets of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) and hotels operating with liquor licence sold 216.34 lakh cases of IMFL in 2018-19, an increase of 4% against the 208.51 lakh cases of IMFL sold in 2017-18.Interestingly, while beer sales saw a jump of 5% this April than the first month of 2018-19, IMFL sales dropped by 1% in the same period this year.However, Bevco managing director Sparjan Kumar G said, “The decline in the April sales cannot be called a ‘trend’ as beer sales peak in summer months, which leads to a dip in IMFL sales.”
‘Loss to state’
Excise Minister T P Ramakrishnan said Bevco made a record Rs 14,504.67 crore in 2018-19 which was Rs 1,567.58 crore higher than 2017-18. “However, the dependence on other states for liquor is a loss for Kerala in terms of revenue and employment. A majority of the liquor manufacturers are based in other states and supply beer and IMFL in Kerala with the help of some blending and bottling units,” he said.
Tiruvalla-based Travancore Sugars and Chemicals Ltd is Kerala’s lone public sector company operating in the segment.
Post ‘brewery’ row
The state government had recently cancelled its bid to grant licence to three breweries and two blending and bottling units following the Opposition’s allegations that the licence were issued flouting norms and rules.On the state’s plans to issue licence to breweries – public or private – in the light of Kerala’s growing dependence on other states, Ramakrishnan told Express that post the ‘brewery’ controversy, the state government formed a committee with the Additional Chief Secretary (Law), as head and the Excise Commissioner, Law Secretary, Joint Excise Commissioner, and Deputy Secretary (Law) as members.
The committee has submitted its report and the state government will decide upon the actions to be taken for issuing fresh licence to breweries after vetting the findings of the report.
34-month comparison
Liquor sale in the 34-month rule of the LDF government (July 2016 to April 2019) saw a dip against the 34 months of the previous government (September 2013-June 2016).IMFL sales dipped by 20.46 lakh cases while beer sales dropped by 3.37 lakh cases under the present government, said Ramakrishnan.
