Thiruvananthapuram: Excise minister M V Govindan here on Saturday said the government has not decided to raise liquor prices but hinted that the sharp rise in the production cost of liquor has necessitated a price hike.
“As of now, the government has not decided to hike liquor prices. But the problem is that the cost of spirits has increased sharply. The price of spirit has increased by Rs 6 to Rs 7 per litre in the recent days. A policy decision would soon be taken after considering the ground realities,” he said.
The state doesn’t produce spirit and liquor production is also very little. In this background, it heavily depends on other states to meet the demand. “The beverages corporation has been running into losses. The production of the popular brand, Jawan, produced in the state has come down because of the rise in spirit prices,” he said. According to the minister, there is no need for much discussions to consider the demand for the price increase as the government is fully aware of the situation.
“In the current scenario, all liquor companies would have to hike their prices. It is not just the case of the Jawan brand. The government will have to take steps to address such a situation. I am not making further comments because a policy decision is required for the price hike,” he said.
According to the latest report of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the Kerala State beverages Corporation (BEVCO) has posted a revenue loss of Rs 1,608.17 crore in 2020-21. However, the losses were attributed to the outbreak of Covid-19 that forced the state-run corporation to close down its outlets.
The above news was originally posted on timesofindia.indiatimes.com
