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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025

 

--Telangana minister: Expect report from alcohol-pricing panel soon

--CONTEXT: Telangana set up panel to recommend new pricing of alcohol

--Minister: Beer price revision in Telangana subject to panel recommendation

--Telangana minister: United Breweries seeking 30% rise in beer prices

--Minister: Telangana dues to United Breweries INR 6.6 bln as of Wed

--Telangana minister: United Breweries' claims on dues misleading

--Minister: United Breweries controlling nearly 70% mkt share in Telangana

--CONTEXT: United Breweries suspended beer supply to Telangana from Wed

--Telangana minister: United Breweries indulging in monopolistic practices

 

By Narayana Krishna

 

HYDERABAD – Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao on Thursday said United Breweries Ltd. is seeking a 30% rise in the base price of beer, but the decision is in the hands of the pricing panel headed by a former judge. This comes after United Breweries on Wednesday said that it has suspended beer supply to Telangana Beverages Corp. Ltd., the nodal agency that controls the sale of liquor and other alcoholic beverages in the state.

 

The suspension was with immediate effect, the company said in a statement, citing non-payment of dues and non-revision of base prices.

 

Rao said the suspension is monopolistic in nature as the company enjoys the majority market share in Telangana. The minister said United Breweries enjoys a nearly 70% market share in Telangana and its decision is provocative, especially at a time when the pricing panel is about to submit its report. Telangana has set up a panel headed by a former judge to decide the prices of alcohol and other beverages for the coming year. Telangana Beverages Corp. has 1.4 million cases of beer in stock, which will meet the demand for the next 10 days, Rao added. 

 

Liquor sales are controlled by the state government and Telangana Beverages Corp. buys liquor from various companies at a contracted price. It then supplies to retail stores after adding state taxes and other levies. In 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), Telangana Beverages Corp. sold 54.8 million cases of beer in the state, of which 38.3 million cases were supplied by United Breweries, the minister said. Till December-end of FY25, United Breweries supplied 27.5 million cases out of the total sales of 41.3 million cases.

 

In its letter to Telangana Beverages Corp., United Breweries alleged that the basic price of beer has not been revised since 2019-20, and the company is incurring losses due to the lower prices. The company said it provided its inputs to the pricing committee, but has not heard anything from the agency and no price revision has taken place. The company has written at least five letters since May, expressing its concerns on business viability due to the dues and lower pricing, it said.

 

Rao said the company's claims on dues from Telangana Beverages Corp. are false and misleading as the state agency owes only INR 6.6 billion, against the claims of INR 7.02 billion. The state government is making payments as committed to the company, Rao said.

 

At 1047 IST, shares of United Breweries traded at INR 2,021.45 on the National Stock Exchange, up 1.05% from its previous close.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Namrata Rao

 

 

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