Mumbai: The Maharashtra government in its latest developments in the liquor policies has decided to upgrade the liquor shops. Several market associations including the International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI) in Mumbai, which is the apex body of the premium alcoholic beverage industry have welcomed the decision.
The Maharashtra government has categorised liquor stores into two- super-premium and elite outlets. According to reports, the liquor shops under the super-premium category will have an area of around 601 sqm while the area of elite shops is expected to be between 71 sqm and 600 sqm.
The customers will soon be able to taste premium liquor brands from ‘super premium’ liquor shops or markets apart from ‘walk-in’ and ‘self-service’ facilities. But the condition for this is that the area of the shop should be 601 square meters and above.
Maharashtra has around 45 operational wineries. Of these, between 15 and 20 units directly sell its products, while the rest are bulk manufacturers.
The wine industry boasts of a turnover of around Rs 1,000 crore annually and Maharashtra contributes 65% of these revenues. Most wineries are located in Nashik, which produce around 80% of India’s wine, followed by Sangli, Pune, Solapur, Buldhana and Ahmednagar.
The current sale of 70 lakh litres per year in the state is expected to go up to 1 crore litres under the new policy for retail sale, industry officials said.
