Noida, Gr Noida guzzle beer, foreign liquor worth Rs 574.84 cr in this fiscal year so far

The sale of beer and foreign liquor has seen a marked spike in Gautam Buddh Nagar, with the alcoholic varieties registering estimated sales of Rs 574.84 crore so far this fiscal year, according to official data.

As many as 1.50 crore bottles of beer and 58.22 lakh of foreign liquor have been sold in Noida and Greater Noida since April 2018 to December 2018, reveal the district's excise department data.

In the corresponding period in 2017-2018 fiscal, the number of beer bottles and foreign liquor bottles sold stood at 1.26 crore and 41.53 lakh, respectively, it stated.

At an average price of Rs 600 per bottle, the foreign liquor sales stood at Rs 349. 34 crore in the district, while at an average cost of Rs 150 per bottle the beer sales stood at Rs 225.53 crore, officials said.

The total estimated sales of the two varieties together stood at Rs 574.84 crore, according to the data, which does not include the sale of country-made liquor.

Gautam Buddh Nagar has liquor 483 shops in the district, including 216 for country-made varieties, 115 for foreign brands, 120 for beer and 23 model shops, said district excise officer R K Singh.

He said the excise department has earned Rs 522.69 crore in revenue from April to December in 2018, which is 46.9 per cent more than the revenue earned in the corresponding period last fiscal -- Rs 355.82 crore.

"The total revenue earned includes the sales of country liquor besides foreign liquor and beer," Singh said.

"Holi, Diwali, New Year's Eve, among other occasions witness major sales," Singh told PTI.