10-15 per cent increase in beer price may take the fizz out of guzzlers this summer in Telangana

HYDERABAD: There will be a little dampening of spirit of the boozers in Telangana this week when the cost of beer will go up by about 10 to 15 per cent. With the advent of summer, the state government has decided to hike the prices of beer bottles. The minimum price of a beer bottle, which is Rs 90 now, will go up to Rs 100.

In fact, the beer prices are very less in the state than in neighbouring states. The minimum price in Maharashtra is Rs 150 and in Andhra Pradesh it is Rs 110. “The AP government is going to increase the beer prices this summer. We have studied the beer prices in other states and decided to increase the price in our state,” a senior official of the excise department said here on Wednesday.

Any hike in beer prices would be rounded off to the nearest Rs 10, the officials said. For example, the price of a beer bottle is Rs 125 now and the hike is 10 per cent, the price will be Rs 137. But the price will be adjusted to Rs 140.The government constituted a committee last month to recommended the hike in beer prices as demanded by the industry. The report was submitted to the government. “The new beer prices will come into force this week itself,” the official said.

With the hike in beer prices by 10 to 15 per cent, the excise department is expecting an additional revenue of Rs 20 crore to Rs  30 crore every month. “Telangana is mainly a beer-consuming state. If the hike is much, people will protest. So, the hike will be moderate,” an official said. The sale of beer in the state during summer is expected to be anywhere between 40 and 45 lakh cases every month.

Comparative minimum prices
Maharashtra: Rs 150
Andhra Pradesh:Rs 110
Telangana: Rs 90
Revised price in TS: Rs 100