Tipplers say 'cheers' as usual this Onam in Kerala; Bevco sold liquor worth Rs 624 crore in a week

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: This Onam season, tipplers in Kerala contributed over Rs 624 crore to the state's coffers with the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC), also known as Bevco, registering record sales from September 1-7.

Five outlets in Kerala--Ashramam in Kollam, Power House Road in Thiruvananthapuram, Irinjalakuda in Thrissur, Court junction in Cherthala and Payyannur in Kannur--recorded a sale of over Rs one crore each on September 7, 'Uthradom day', which is a day before Thiruvonam.

The Ashramam outlet recorded a sale of Rs 1.06 crore on Wednesday, the highest in the state.

"This Uthradom day, Bevco made a record sales of Rs 118 crore. Last year, this was Rs 81 crore. Some of the stores had a footfall of over 10,000 on that day. The Onam season is from September 1-11. However, during September 1-7 itself, we had a record sale of Rs 624," Bevco CMD Yogesh Gupta told PTI.

Last year, during the Onam season, the sales touched Rs 561 crore.

However, even though the Onam season is not over yet, the sales have touched Rs 634 crore.

"There is an increase of 30 per cent already. We expect a sale of Rs 750 crore by the end of this Onam season," Gupta said.

There are 301 government-run liquor outlets across the State.

In 2020, the Left government increased the price of liquor by 10-35 per cent to get extra revenue.

Currently, the sales tax on IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) is 237 per cent for brands priced up to Rs 400 and 247 per cent for those above that price.