Liquor sales in West Bengal go up in festive season

KOLKATA - It’s Christmas time and New Year’s Eve — so it’s party time. And liquor sellers in West Bengal are laughing all the way to the bank as the youngsters beat the winter chill with exotic foreign liquor varieties.

“There is a 18-20 percent growth in liquor sales in the state during this festive week. We expect liquor sales to be Rs.30 crore in value terms,” Parag Mitra, secretary of the West Bengal Foreign Liquor Manufacturers, Wholesalers and Bonders Association told IANS.

“Today the demography of the state is such that 62 percent of the population is below 35 years. The youth employed with the IT (Information Technology) sector or the service sector form a substantial section of our consumers. And they are opting more for high-end liquors,” Mitra said.

The liquor consumption trend is shifting, with the younger generation mostly indulging themselves with tequila, premium whisky and wines away from the traditional rum, gin and vodka.

“There is growth in sales of top-end whiskies. Wine sales have gone up by 15-18 percent. There is a growth in sales of malt-based spirits,” he said.

The consumption of foreign liquor has also gone up over the last couple of years, with the annual growth rate being 20-30 percent. In earlier years, it used to be 8-15 percent, he said.

The state has a Rs.2,500 crore liquor market, with Kolkata accounting for 40 percent of the total sales.