Never-say-die tipplers ensure top slot
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Kerala remains in ‘high spirits,’ topping the states and accounting for 16 per cent of the liquor consumption in the country, closely followed by Punjab at 14 per cent.
A study by the trade body Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) says the overall liquor intake in the country is growing at about 30 per cent annually and is likely to reach about 20,000 million litres in the next three years, from current level of about 7,000 million litres.
In revenue terms, the market is estimated to be around Rs 52,000 crore, which is likely to reach about Rs 2,00,000 crore in the next three years.
Interestingly, the sale of imported spirits, including the duty-free travel trade in the country, is likely to cross the 5-million cases mark and reach about 550 lakh litres by 2015.
Growing at a compounded annual growth rate of about 25 per cent, the imported spirits market is currently at around 280 lakh litres, involving about 3.1 million cases, says the study titled, ‘India’s emerging imported spirits market’.
“The growth of imported spirits in India is largely driven by the spurt in the tendency among young professionals and entrepreneurs to migrate from local brands to international ones,” says the Assocham secretary-general D.S. Rawat.
The growth in the sector is also fueled by the rising income levels, an increase in the young population, the growing number of working women, the increasing media penetration and an expanding exposure to western lifestyle among the people in the upper-middle income group, it says.
For them, “serving expensive liquor reflects their lifestyle and it’s a status symbol.”
“At present, stifled by the strict regulatory environment together with state levies and high import tariff, the imported liquor market will undergo a sea change if these conditions are relaxed,” the study says.
According to the study, the vodka market in the country was seen growing at 25 per cent annually and is likely to reach about 10.2 million cases by the end this year.
The study attributes this to vodka emerging as a starting drink of choice for the youth in metros and other cities.
The wine market which was worth `800 crore in 2008 is likely to touch Rs 2,700 crore this year, the study adds.
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