Beer guzzlers help Telangana rake in Rs 583 crore in 18 days

Excise officials are expecting the sale of beer to cross Rs 1,000 crore in May as the mercury is still on the rise in Telangana

Hyderabad: Beer sales have soared in Telangana along with the mercury level, which is increasing each day. According to official data, between May 1 and 18, a staggering 4.23 crore bottles of beer were sold in the State, generating revenue of Rs 582.99 crore through just sale of beer during the period.

Excise officials are expecting a further increase in the sale of beer in the next two weeks as the mercury is still on the rise. They are expecting the sale of beer to cross Rs 1,000 crore in May.

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According to Excise officials, during the 18 days this month, about 35,25,247 cartons amounting to 4,23,02,964 beer bottles were sold across the State through 19 depots. On an average, 1,95,847 beer cans and 23,50,164 beer bottles were consumed per day in the State by beer lovers.

There are about 2,650 wine shops and 1,172 bars and restaurants in the State. Nalgonda district topped in beer sales during these 18 days, while Karimnagar district stood second. In Nalgonda district, 3,00,364 cartons of beer worth Rs 48.14 crore were sold. On the other hand, only 13,26,347 liquor cartons were sold in 18 days, through which the government received an income of Rs 904.47 crore through e-sales. Rangareddy district topped in liquor sales with 1,20,334 cartons worth Rs 78.42 crore. Nalgonda district came second in liquor sales.

During April, in the GHMC limits, beer lovers consumed 1,01,54,100 beer bottles from April 1 to April 17. As per the information about 6 lakh beer bottles are being consumed daily on an average by beer lovers in the GHMC jurisdiction. As many as 8,46,175 beer cartons were sold in GHMC limits during the course of these 17 days.

Last year from January 1 to December 30, the total sale of liquor stood at Rs.34,000 crore and in that beer accounted for the lion’s share at 3.48 crore cartons in comparison to 2.52 crore other liquor cartons. On December 31 last year, liquor worth Rs 215.74 crore was sold, out of which 1,28,455 cartons were of beer and 2,17,444 cartons were of liquor.

Even during three days of the Sankranti festival early this year, liquor sales worth Rs 419.11 crore took place across the State. A total of 4.29 lakh cartons of liquor IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) and a total of 5.61 lakh cartons of beer were sold to liquor shops from excise depots.