Hiccup for tipplers as government hikes beer price

HYDERABAD: Guzzlers will have to shell out more for a chilled beer this summer as Telangana State government has hiked the prices by 10 to 12 per cent with immediate effect.

The State government plans to rake in an additional Rs 300 crore per annum through this hike. A light beer of Kingfisher brand priorly sold Rs 90 will now cost Rs 100, strong beer will cost Rs 120, and brands like Budweiser would cost Rs 150 and Budweiser premium strong beer would cost Rs 170. Excise Commissioner and principle secretary Somesh Kumar effected the hike orders based on the tender panel's recommendations.

Excise officials have been told to ensure that the new hiked prices are made applicable only after existing stocks in wine shops are exhausted. The new price would be applicable to only the new stocks that would be supplied to the wine shops from Tuesday evening.

The hike was pending for over two years. A committee comprising Excise officials submitted a proposal recommending increasing prices of beer to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

As per the Telangana excise policy, the revision of the liquor prices can be done every two years. The State government had increased liquor prices in December 2017. At present the liquor sales are contributing nearly Rs 1100 crore to the state every year.

In the summer in 2017, the sales of beer had had hit an all-time record with Rs 42 lakh cases of beer being in May 2017. In April 2017, the sale was 40 lakh cases. About 60 per cent of beer sales were registered in Greater Hyderabad alone.

Telangana is one of the highest beer consuming state in the country, followed by New Delhi, Kerala and Karnataka. To meet demand, all breweries in the state were told to move huge stocks in advance to the depots maintained by Telangana Beverages Corporation Limited.