BHUBANESWAR: Premium beer lovers in the Capital are struggling to find the beverage of their choice this summer, thanks to short supply from other States. The beers manufactured in Odisha are available aplenty but there is a shortage of premium beers which are supplied from West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana.
The foreign liquor off shops and beer bars in the Capital acknowledge that premium beer like Budweiser, Heineken, Tuborg, Elephant, Carlsberg, Kingfisher Ultra, Foster and others have not been available in the market since March.The shortage of premium beers, they point out, occurs every year during summer and the low supply from other States continues for two to three months which is the peak period as beer lovers prefer to tipple their favourite ale.
Sources said, over 40 lakh litres of beer was sold from Khurda depot in 2017 out of which at least 30 lakh litres were sold between April and July. The beer sale reduces after summer and witnesses a meagre consumption during winter.A foreign liquor off shop manager said most of the supply comes from West Bengal, Maharashtra and Telangana. Tuborg is manufactured in Bengal, Elephant cans are manufactured in Maharashtra, while Budweiser cans are sourced from Telangana. Stock of most of the premium beers run dry during summers.
A bar owner at Cuttack Road said they pay 36 per cent tax to the State Government while purchasing the stock and are supposed to get 1 per cent return in the form of TDS but to no avail.Odisha State Beverages Corporation Limited (OSBCL) officials acknowledged that there was a scarcity of premium beer stock in March but asserted that the beverages of all the brands are now available in the market.
“There is a shortage of premium beers every year during summer as the States from where the beverages are supplied give priority to meet the demand of their own regions. That’s why we run short of supply. Odisha does not produce enough to meet its own demand,” said sources.Contacted, OSBC Chief Operating Officer Manas Ranjan Swain said there was a shortage of premium beers in March but now beverages of all brands are available in the market.The corporation’s officials said according to the policy, the States manufacturing beers would first meet the demand of their own regions and the surplus quantity is supplied to other States.