Cheers! AP to be No 1 liquor guzzler - 21.3.11 --TOI

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad: Tipplers in the state are on a new high and are toasting for Andhra Pradesh regaining its dubious reputation as the number one state in liquor consumption. “Following increasing local demand for Indian Made Foreign Liquor, we are increasing the distilling capacity of the liquor majors in the state to cater to the additional demand,” a revenue official told TOI.
Andhra Pradesh consumes as much as 4.29 crore cases of liquor every year. One case comprises 12 bottles of 750 ml each. Till last year, the state was number one in the consumption of liquor but was displaced by Tamil Nadu whose 6.5 crore population consumed almost 5 crore cases of IMFL last year.
Of the 4.29 crore cases that is consumed in AP, liquor majors like Shaw Wallace, UB Group, Radicao Khaitan, Bagga Distilleries and United Spirits through the 13 distilleries and seven breweries they operate in the state contribute to 1.17 crore cases. The rem a i n i n g liquor is b ro u g h t from the distilleries in the other states.
The quota for local distillation is fixed by the state. The capacity that the state fixes is reflective of the demand or consumption by its residents, said sources. Shaw Wallace, which started with 144 lakh litre capacity at Malkajgiri near Hyderabad, has now doubled its capacity to 330 lakh litres annually. This single distillery is said to be paying about Rs 1,500 crore as excise duty to the state exchequer.
“Now, seeing the increasing demand, the excise department has given permission to the local distilleries to manufacture another 8.88 lakh cases annually, and the proposal for distilling another 4.6 lakh cases of IMFL is pending, said sources. At this rate, the state can in a very short while overtake Tamil Nadu and once again become the number one state in terms of consumption of liquor, the sources added.
The IMFL market in the state is categorised primarily into whisky, brandy, rum, vodka and gin, with the market share heavily skewed towards whisky which accounts for 65 per cent of the total liquor consumed. The industry has been witnessing an annual growth rate of around 20 to 24 per cent over the past five years in Andhra Pradesh.
While Tamil Nadu and AP may be number one and two states respectively with regard to the quantity of liquor consumed, in terms of per capita consumption, Kerala is number one in the country with each Kerala resident consuming about 8 litres of liquor last year. Goa is second with regard to per capita consumption.