Mercury soaring but beer sale going down

The temperatures may be going north but it doesn't seem to be reason enough for beer guzzlers in the national capital to gulp the drink.

The temperatures may be going north but it doesn't seem to be reason enough for beer guzzlers in the national capital to gulp the drink.

HT Image

The sale of beer has shown a downslide in May as against the figures last year. Delhiites consumed 12.49 lakh cases of beer this May as compared to about 15 lakh cases during the same period last year, recording a decrease of more than 2 lakh cases.

According to the Excise Department data, 12,49,474 cases of beer were sold in the city last month. One case contains 12 bottles.

While the industry blames it on the rise in beer rate, the Excise Department attributes the decline in sale to the fluctuating city weather.

Beer became dearer by R20 per bottle since July 2010 due to the additional levy imposed by the city government. "April to June are are considered best period for maximum beer sale in the city due to the prevailing hot weather during this time," said a senior Excise official.

The sale of beer in April this year was also less than the last year. "There were rains in between which affected the demand for the beer in the city," said the official.

The demand for strong beer is more than the light beer as 80 per cent of the total beer sale consists of strong beer in the city. Though the beer sale is decreasing this summer, the Excise Department is not worried about meeting its revenue target.

"We are hopeful of meeting the R2,300 crore excise target in the 2011-12 fiscal because there is an overall growth in liquor sale," said the official.