Due to the lockdown, liquor stocks worth Rs 3,000 crore have accumulated in restaurants and hotels across the country. Now owners of restaurants and hotels have sought permission from the state governments to sell it.“We are facing a lot of crisis at this time. On one hand we have a stock of expensive liquor and on the other we are facing a cash crisis,” said
National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) president Anurag Katiyar.
However, now the industry is seeing some ray of light, because many states have given permission to sell liquor. Katiyar said, “We urge all the state governments to allow us to sell liquor stock. We can sell this liquor through the ‘Home Delivery’ model.” He said that this would help them remove their stock.
“We will be able to raise some money so that the needs of the people will be met. Also, through this model, we will also be able to follow the guidelines of social distancing.” Rahul Singh, founder and CEO of Beer Cafe, said that liquor in India is sold in three ways — through Flip, Horeka (hotels, restaurants and catering) and canteen stores. The number of Horeka licensed locations is close to 30,000 nationwide. “There is at least one month of stock at any given time.
This means that the lockdown has resulted in at least Rs 3,000 crore of stock at various outlets across the country,” Singh said. He added that retail sales of liquor have started. Now our industry should also be allowed to do this. “We are requesting the state governments to allow us to temporarily sell our stock,”Singh said. He said that other countries have done so. “The same can be done here.”
