India's beer consumption lowest in Asia; demand to pick up: Report

Noting that India has one of the lowest levels of beer consumption per capita in Asia, a BMI Research report said it holds a favourable outlook for the market in the country, on the back of changing cultural attitudes and more young affluent population.

As per the report, total alcohol consumption in India is at 5.1 litres per capita in 2018, considerably lower than the Asian per capita average of 20.9 litres.

The low consumption is due to reasons like conservative attitudes, licensing regulations, restrictions on the sale of alcohol in certain states and a preference for locally produced spirits such as whiskey.

Stating that government regulations and hike in duties remain a risk to India's developing beer market, the report said the outlook for beer market in India is favourable on the back of changing cultural attitudes and a young, increasingly affluent population.

"We forecast beer sales in volume terms to grow by an average of 6.9 per cent annually between 2018 and 2022, reaching 6.5 billion litres in total by the end of this period, up from an estimated 4.7 billion litres in 2017," the Fitch Group company said in a statement.

Other reasons to spur the beer culture in India, as per the report, include rising disposable incomes, aspirational lifestyles, cheaper locally produced products and emerging craft beer culture, among others.