THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Total liquor sales are down, but beer and wine sales are up, and Malayalees start drinking at a startlingly younger age than before, according to the Alcohol Atlas of Kerala prepared by Alcohol and Drug Information Centre-India (ADIC-India) which was released this week. Total liquor sales plummeted in the state during 2014-15 compared to the previous fiscal, but consumption of beer and wine has risen significantly since January 1, after the bars converted into beer and wine parlours.
The sale of brandy, rum, gin, whiskey, vodka, beer and wine fell by 2.70 crore litres in 2014-15 compared to 2013-14, a reduction of 8.94 per cent, according to the report which was released here by KPCC president V M Sudheeran.IMFL—excluding beer and wine—sales fell by 8.65 per cent and that of beer by 9.89 per cent, but wine sales rose in 2014-15 by 21.3 per cent, ADIC-India director Johnson Edayaranmula said, presenting the report.
On the other hand, beer and wine sales shot up since January 1. Beer sales, which stood at 49.72 lakh litres in December, jumped to 81.01 lakh litres in January, 88.09 lakh litres in February and 94.60 lakh litres in March. Wine sales had stood at 64,859 litres in December.