BENGALURU: Beer sales in Karnataka have made a whopping comeback after the pandemic which had adversely impacted the Food & Beverage (F&B) industry. According to State Excise, beer sales for April-May in the current fiscal (2022-’23) have registered a 114.53 per cent growth compared to the corresponding months in the previous financial year (FY) 2021-’22 whereas Indian Made Liquor (IML) has shown a 12.21 per cent growth in April-May this FY compared to the two months in previous fiscal.
The Excise Department in the last two months has collected Rs 4,678.66 crore revenue, registering a 16.13 per cent achievement over the unprecedented revenue target of Rs 29,000 crore for 2022-’23 compared to Rs 3,676.77 crore in April and May last year, which was 14.96 per cent achievement over Rs 24,580 crore revenue target for the previous fiscal.
Besides Bengaluru, North Karnataka especially has seen beer sales soaring. According to informed sources, sale of beer in Yadgir and Kalaburagi in North Karnataka and Mandya in South Karnataka is much higher than Indian Made Liquor (IML).
In Bengaluru alone, at least five new pubs and bars have opened in the last one month beating the pandemic blues. “Almost all outlets are running full occupancy. In the last two months liquor sales across all watering holes are much better than pre-Covid times,” said owners of some prominent restaurant-cum-bars and microbreweries across the city.
However, the manpower shortage continues to trouble the F&B industry. “Those of us who could not pay our staff due to lockdown and loss in business are now reeling under staff shortage. Most of them who are from the northeast have not returned to work. The hotel management trainees, who have to compulsorily do industrial training as part of their course, are also being put on the job at various outlets to deal with the staff crunch,” sources said.