Ever since the YSR Congress party government started implementing its new excise policy since October 1, liquor sales have dropped considerably.
According to official figures released by AP Beverages Corporation Limited, as many as 23,86,397 cases of liquor (each case contains 12 bottles) were sold in October this year, as against 32,28,366 cases in the same month in 2018. This shows, there is a drop of 27 per cent in liquor sales this year, compared to last year.
Similarly, the number of cases of beer sold in October this year was 10,40,539, as against 23,86,397 cases in October last year – a sharp fall of 56.4 per cent in beer sales.
The government has claimed that the number of liquor shops was brought down from 4,380 to 3,500 this excise year and the government itself has taken up liquor sales through retail outlets. The shops are being run only from 11 am to 8 pm , as against 10 am to 11 pm in the past.
“This is the reason for sharp fall in the liquor sales, indicating that the liquor consumption has come down in the state, thanks to phased prohibition introduced by the state government,” an official release said.
Interestingly, the fall in revenue from liquor sales has not been very significant this year, compared to last year. During October 2018, the state government had got a revenue of Rs 1702 crore from liquor sales, whereas it got Rs 1624 crore this year – a difference of just Rs 78 crore.
One reason for this could be steep increase in liquor prices by the Jagan government just before the commencement of new excise policy and also prevention of black marketing!