Budget blow to palmyra toddy in the North

Palmyra toddy sales have dropped by 50 percent in the Jaffna Peninsula after beer prices were slashed in the Budget 2018.

Before the Budget, at least 1,000 bottles were sold in the outlets in the peninsula, but the volume had now now dropped to about 500, claims S. Selliah, Secretary of the Palmyra Coconut Development Cooperative Society (Kondavil Society).

There are 19 such societies in the peninsula. During peak season, unsold toddy is bottled by these societies and sold to liquor outlets. Mr Selliah said that after the reduction of beer prices, most of the toddy consumers had switched over to beer because it was cheaper.

“We pay Rs 50 for a bottle of tapped toddy. Currently, a bottle of toddy is sold at Rs. 100. Some 18,000 northern families are dependent on the toddy industry. If this trend continues, these families, who are already facing severe economic difficulties, will become even poorer,” he said.

He also claimed many youngsters had also taken to beer drinking after the price reduction. 2017,” he said.

The reason for the reduction was due to increased raids conducted on illicit liquor dens and awareness campaigns at grassroots level, the Task Force maintained.

Those in the liquor industry, however, welcomed the Government’s move, noting that the Government had slapped a 75 per cent tax on beer in the 2015 Budget. In that year’s budget, the price of a can of beer, which stood at about Rs. 200, was raised to Rs.300, and then to Rs. 350, said a liquor industry source.

“The 2015 tax was most unfair. A fairer increase would have been to increase it gradually over 2015 and 2016 to about Rs. 270,” he said.He also countered that illicit drugs and liquor were available in the country due to deficiencies in policing, adding that it would be a stretch to claim that a price reduction on beer would increase drug addicts.

The Sunday Times, meanwhile, spoke to several liquor outlets in and around Colombo, and were told there was a significant increase in the sale of beer since the budget as opposed to hard liquor.

The price of beer has reduced by as much as Rs. 80 across the board, making it more affordable. By contrast, prices of hard liquor such as arrack have risen by as much as Rs. 160.

Many dealers, however, said it was still too early to draw conclusions on how much beer consumption had gone up and whether hard liquor consumption had dropped, particularly as December is a festive month.

“December is a time when people typically have more disposable income, which they can spend on liquor,” pointed out a proprietor of a large wine store. “As such, we would have to wait a few months to judge the impact over a period of time.”