West Bengal: Merrymakers choose country liquor as alcohol worth Rs720 Cr sold in 12 days

The demand for country liquor witnessed an uptick in West Bengal compared to Indian- Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer during the first 12 days of October. Retail liquor traders purchased 37.93 lakh litres of IMFL from BEVCO which is merely 26% of total country liquor sales. While traders find the trend natural, analysts say people are trying to cut down their alcohol expense during pandemic

Kolkata:Demand for country liquor is skyrocketing in West Bengal, when compared to Indian- Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer, thanks to the ongoing festival season. The sole wholesale liquor trading company in West Bengal is the state-run West Bengal State Beverages Corporation (BEVCO). In total, BEVCO has sold liquor worth a total of Rs720 crore, adding an amount of Rs550 crores to the exchequer of the state excise department during the first 12 days of October.

Retail liquor traders purchased 1.46 crore litres of country liquor from BEVCO, a figure which according to the state excise department is the highest in the last five years. Meanwhile, the traders purchased only 26 per cent of the total country liquor - 37.93 lakh litres of IMFL - from BEVCO during the same period.

Although the sales figure of beer from BEVCO was slightly higher compared to that of IMFL, that figure too was paltry compared to the sales figures for country liquor. The retailers purchased 43.74 litres of beer from BEVCO, which is just 30 per cent of the total country liquor sales of BEVCO.

According to Om Prakash Gupta, a retail trader, the demand and sales for country liquor has always been comparatively higher than IMFL or beer. “However, earlier the sales for IMFL and beer used to hover around 50% of the sales of country liquor. But this time the percentage has come down to this level. From this trend it is clear that a major sector of the low-cost IMFL consumers have shifted to country liquor because of the price factor,” he said.

Former journalist and economic analyst, Santanu Sanyal said that due to Covid induced economic slowdown, people are running out of surplus money. “However, the thirst for liquor will remain as it would be difficult for many to do away with it completely. Country liquor is always much cheaper compared to IMFL or beer. So the IMFL or beer drinkers are now shifting to country liquor,” he said.

Another financial analyst, Nilanjan De said that probably the differential excise rates for country liquor, IMFL and beer has something to do with this new trend. “This trend is natural considering the manner in which people are curtailing their expenses during this pandemic period,” he said.