No cheers as lockdowns take toll on liquor sales

New Delhi: Nationwide lockdowns that were necessitated due to the Corona pandemic impacted sales of IMFL (an Indian made foreign liquor) products across India in 2020-21 with overall sales dropping by 12 per cent, according to CIABC, the apex body of the Indian alcoholic beverage industry.

Though the sales picked up in the second half of 2020-21 in most parts, the States which imposed high Corona cess and other taxes after the first wave of Covid-19 showed poor recovery.

The total sales of IMFL products in 2020-21 was 305 million cases (nine litres each) which is nearly 12 per cent below the previous year, says the data compiled by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC).

After an extremely poor first quarter (April-June 2020-21) due to Covid lockdowns, sales showed positive trend on an all India basis, improving through each quarter, and finally ending the year with a robust performance in the fourth quarter (January to March 2021), said the apex body of the Indian alcoholic beverage industry.

While the liquor sales fell by a whopping 42 per cent in Q1 of the last fiscal, it declined by 9 per cent in Q2 and 1 per cent in Q3, before showing a recovery of 6 per cent in Q4.

The top five States in terms of recovery in sales were Maharashtra, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, while West Bengal, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh were among the big States which witnessed largest declines over the previous fiscal.

CIABC Director General Vinod Giri said: "Many States showed positive trend through the quarters, and even though most States were unable to fully recover volume lost in first and second quarters, strong performance in third and fourth quarters reflects fundamental strength in the market.