TIRUPATI: The soaring temperature is keeping cash registers of the AP excise department ringing, as tipplers have been guzzling gallons of beer to quench their thirst this summer. Figures show that consumers prefer beer over other alcoholic beverages, which witnessed a steady increase in sale in the last two months.
In March and April, consumption of beer went up significantly, with sales pegged at 23.37 lakh cases in the state, fetching Rs 498.52 crore to the excise department. This was much higher compared to the 13.98 lakh cases sold during the first two months of the year 2022, and 17.46 lakh beer cases sold in the months of March and April last year.
The sale of beer increases every summer, as temperatures cross 40 degree Celsius at various places, due to which many tipplers opt for chilled beer to beat the heat. However, the excise department recorded a decline in beer sales in the previous summer seasons in 2020 and 2021 as booze lovers avoided consuming cold items in fear of contracting Covid. As things are getting back to normalcy, beer sales are going up significantly now.
Going by the data obtained from the prohibition and excise department, beer sales in March increased by 16.47 per cent when compared to the previous year. Significantly, beer sales in the state increased by 51.68 per cent in April when compared to the same in the corresponding month last year.
In March, nearly 10.33 lakh beer cases and 26.81 lakh IML cases were sold in AP, fetching revenues of Rs 218.35 crore and Rs 1,927.67 crore respectively. In April, consumption of beer went up to 13.03 lakh cases, while the sale of IML dipped to 24.68 lakh cases (compared to March), which fetched Rs 280.17 crore and Rs 1,746.38 crore respectively, to the excise department.
“Beer sales are typically higher during summer which starts in March. The rise is already visible at all corporation warehouses in the last two months and is expected to be high in May. The Indian Made Liquor (IML) sales don’t have any visible increase, but they are also doing better when compared to sales last year,” a senior official told Deccan Chronicle.
With the decline in the sale of IML in April, the excise department has earned only Rs 2026.56 crore, whereas the IML sales in March stood at Rs 2,146.03 crore. This was, however, much higher compared to the sales in March – Rs 1,986.52 crore, and April – Rs 1,868.35 crore, last year. In the first two months of 2022, liquor sales fetched revenues of Rs 2147.46 and Rs 1946.11 crore respectively to the excise department.
