India: The state of Kerala may see beer shortage this summer

With bars shut and demand for 'strong' beer shooting up in the state, the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC) says it will not be able to meet requirements this summer, The Times of India reported on April 2.

The KSBC has placed an immediate order for 38 lakh cases of beer from beer companies but suppliers have only accepted orders for 22 lakh cases. Even with this, says KSBC managing director and excise commissioner Anil Xavier, they are likely to run short of 'strong' beer this summer.

"As the number of beer and wine parlours has increased in the last few months and with the advent of summer, the demand for beer has gone up. We do not have enough beer production in the state and we are placing orders outside. Even they cannot meet our demand as demand is high during summer in all states," Xavier said.

Currently, there are 499 beer and wine parlours in Kerala. With the Kerala high court upholding the state government's abkari policy, 300 bars have shut shop and many bar owners are likely to approach the excise department for beer and wine licences.

The KSBC has enough stock of light beer but is short of strong beer, the preferred type in the state. Even though there used to be a marginal shortage of beer every year during summer, this failed to have an impact as hard liquor was readily available.

The sale of beer for 2014-15 was 96 lakh cases, marginally less than that in 2013-14 when the figure was 108 lakh cases. But this dip was due to issues relating to the closure of bar hotels, excise department officials said.

"The sale of beer was almost negligible in the period from April to October when the bar hotels were shut and court litigations were on. The major chunk of sales happened between October and March. This year, the sales are projected to shoot up," excise department sources said.

Normally, beer sales has registered slow growth in the last three decades, beginning with 5.05 lakh cases in 1984-85 to 108 lakh cases in 2013-14. But the excise department expects a leap in in 2015-16. Meanwhile, the sale of wine is yet to be quantified.

03 April, 2015