E-Malt.com News article: India: State of Jaipur registers a drop in beer consumption

Since April this year, when Jaipur’s government imposed the 8 pm deadline on liquor shops, the sales of beer has dropped by 13% in the state, The Times of India posted on November, 19.

However, IMFL* recorded a 5.5% increase in sale in the same period, indicating that many beer drinkers have switched loyalties.

"Beer is preferred by youths and is consumed chilled. It is sold straight out of the refrigerator of the shop. One cannot store it for later use as it gets hot. Besides, most youths cannot afford the luxury of buying a bottle of beer and taking it home to store in the refrigerator at home. So, the consumption rate has come down," said an excise official.

Till last year, beer was one of the most sought-after beverages when liquor shops remained open till 11 pm. After the Gehlot government came to power, these shops were told to close by 8 pm as part of the new excise policy.

Earlier, most shops allowed its customers to have beer on the counter. But this year, with a strict curb on consumption of beer in the open, drinking patterns have changed.

But excise officials refuted claims that an increase in prices has brought down beer consumption. "The price has increased marginally but that is true for other forms of liquor as well. Though the sale of beer has gone down, others went up," said an official.

"IMFL has a different and fixed section of consumers. They are generally adults who drink in groups and this category has been unaffected by the 8 pm deadline. In fact, the increase in its sale suggests that many beer drinkers have switched to IMFL," he said.

The rural parts of the state too have seen a change in drinking pattern. "Reports suggest that drinking of beer among youths in rural areas was picking up in the past two-three years. But now country-made liquor has replaced it. The sale figures for country-made liquor have registered an increase of 23% this year," he added.

"We receive more duty from the sale of IMFL than beer. While the sale of beer has fallen, the increase in the sale of IMFL and country-made liquor will help us meet our revenue targets," said excise commissioner Ajitabh Sharma.


* Indian Made Foreign Liquor - a term used to denote western-style hard liquors such as whisky, rum, vodka, etc, which are manufactured in India. It is used to differentiate them from indigenous recipes such as fenny, toddy, and arrack, which are collectively called country liquor.


20 November, 2009