Kochi: Beer sales soar as summer heat rises

KOCHI

: With summer temperatures rising, people’s desire for alcoholic beverages, especially beer, to quench their thirst is on the rise in the state. Figures show that consumers prefer

beer

over other alcoholic beverages, which witnessed a steady sale rate over the last three months.

According to Kerala state beverages corporation (

KSBC

) figures, 14.06 lakh litres of beer was sold in March compared to 10.6 lakh and 10.69 lakh litres sold during January and February respectively. But, the sales of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) witnessed a steady sales rate of around 18 lakh litres over the last three months. Officials said that the figures will be high in April, the month in which summer peaks.

KSBC managing director B Sparjan Kumar said that the beer sales during March were similar to previous year which recorded 14.02 lakh litres. “Beer sales are typically higher during summer which starts in March. The rise is already visible at all the 23 KSBC warehouses in the state and is expected to be high in April. IMFL sales do not have any visible increase, may be because people prefer beer to cool them down,” he said.

Meanwhile, excise officials said that the upcoming election is also a factor behind the rise in sales. “Besides

summer heat

, election heat could trigger the rise in beer sales. Even though the practice of using liquor and narcotic substances during election campaign is low in Kerala compared to other states, these spirits play a major role in elevating the spirit of party workers and campaigners across the state. This will increase as the poll day gets closer,” said a senior excise official.

They also said that the rise in sales should have been much higher, considering the increase in number of bars. In 2018, the beer sales during January, February and March were 9.99 lakh litres, 10.26 lakh litres and 14.02 lakh litres respectively.