Liquor manufacturers, who thrived in Andhra Pradesh by taking advantage of the changed excise policy under Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy's government over the last five years, are now said to be shifting their business to Telangana.
These liquor moguls made huge profits by introducing various previously unknown brands and selling them at exorbitant prices through the state-run AP Beverages Corporation.
They ensured that popular liquor brands like Kingfisher Beer, Royal Stag, Teachers, Signature, and others went out of stock, forcing people to buy their brands, such as President’s Medal, Capital, Timer, Boom Boom, Classic Blue, Old Admiral, Royal Green, and Sentinel.
Especially in rural areas, people had no option but to buy these brands as they couldn't procure their preferred brands. This strategy resulted in massive profits for these manufacturers.
There were allegations that out of 100 liquor manufacturers, the APBCL procured 75% of its liquor from only 15-16 manufacturers like SPY Agro, Adan Distilleries, PMK Distilleries, etc., which are controlled by ruling party leaders.
Interestingly, these manufacturers are now eyeing the market in Telangana, which witnessed a change of government last November. Using their influence with top Congress leaders, they are attempting to enter the Telangana market.
Sources reveal that a powerful liquor lobbyist and advisor to Jagan, who played a key role in getting approval for various liquor brands in Andhra Pradesh, is now allied with Revanth Reddy in Telangana.
This individual is lobbying on behalf of the liquor manufacturers to get their brands procured by the Telangana State Beverages Corporation, sources said.
"This is why some popular liquor brands are slowly disappearing from wine shops and bars. There is a serious scarcity of these brands at present. In the name of compensating for the lack of stock of these popular brands, new unknown brands are entering the market," sources said.
If the popular brands are not available, the people of Telangana will also be forced to buy new brands at high prices, resulting in huge profits for the manufacturers from Andhra, sources added.