Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) director general Pramod Krishna alleged that the branded liquor trade has reached a dead end with Uttarakhand Agriculture Produce Marketing committee (APMC) not supplying it as per demand. “The liquor shops in Uttarakhand are facing acute shortage of branded liquor due to the flawed Fl2 policy being implemented by the State Government from May 2015,” he said.
He said that in last financial year, the consumption of Blender’s Pride whisky was 46314 cases (1 case=9 litres or 12 bottles, each bottle containing 750 ml). But in the second quarter of the current financial year, its consumption is nil because the Uttarakhand Agriculture Produce Marketing committee (APMC) is not submitting demand for branded liquor to private companies.
Krishna explained that the incumbent government has introduced various changes in the Route to Market (RTM) activity for Alco-Bev products. He further said that the impact of revised RTM structure, made effective from May1, 2015 authorizing Uttarakhand Agricultural Produce Marketing Board (UAPMB)to procure all brands of liquor (Indian made as well as Imported) is grim on the trade. Distribution is now being made through government appointed agencies - Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN)- which in turn supply to the retailers. Things have reached such a sorry state that the supplies are short by 75-80 per cent and the retailers are incurring heavy losses for no fault of theirs.
He further shared insights on how the introduction of these measures coupled with monopolistic practices by certain officials are deliberately limiting the sale of certain popular brands with proven track records as well as creating an artificial shortage in supply and procurement of the bigger IMFl liquor brands in the state. The non-availability of popular brands will make it difficult to procure goods but the retailer will be required to pay excise duties to fulfill his quota obligations. Most importantly, this can leave a negative impact on the state’s traders that can also give rise to the production of illicit liquor.
Buttressing his claim, he said that 944976 cases of Mc Dowells Whisky were sold in the year 2014-15. In between May-July 2015, 115433 cases of the brand were sold, but between August and October, the sale has come down to zero case. In the same way, 31758 cases of McDowell Rum were sold between May and July while between August and October 15 , the sale is zero. 88680 cases of Bagpiper Whisky were sold in the year 2014-15 and in between May –July 2015, its sale was 2645 cases while its sale has gone down to zero in between August-October 15. The same happened with Royal Challenge Whisky. Around 32064 cases were sold in the year 2014-15 and in this financial year, its sale was 8482 cases in between May-July 2015. But its sale plummeted to mere 650 cases in between August to October 2015, he said.