Stock up on IMFL, costs may rise 20%

Likely in April because of rising price of sugarcane molasses used in manufacture of liquor

Likely in April because of rising price of sugarcane molasses used in manufacture of liquor

Your peg of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) like whiskey, rum and vodka may cost 20 per cent more from April thanks to the rising price of sugarcane molasses.

drink it in: Prices of vodka and whiskey brands will go up by April. representation pic

"Sugarcane farmers, who have not been getting desired prices, are shifting to cotton cultivation. This has resulted in the fall in sugarcane production and supply, and pushed the prices upwards," explained Mohan Gurnani, chairperson, Bombay Sugar Merchant's Association Ltd.

"We are hiking the prices of our vodka and whiskey brands by 10 to 20 per cent by the end of this month," confirmed N D Sharma, senior branch sales manager, United Breweries Limited, India's largest spirits company.

Prakash Naiknavare, the managing director of Maharashtra State Co-Operative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd said the situation will worsen till October.

"As many as 69 sugar factories in Maharashtra closed down halfway through the current crushing period, which ends in February. The shortage of molasses is so acute that the governments of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh have banned their export," said V N Raina, the director general, All India Distillers' Association.

"Molasses that were sold for Rs 2,000 a tonne last year are now selling at Rs 6,000 a tonne. Clearly, the prices will go up by at least 20 per cent in the near future," added Raina.