Kerala State Beverages Corporation


Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd is a public sector company fully owned by the Government of Kerala, Under k karunakaran ministry, ath the time it starts under civil supplies department under minister U A meeran.which has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcohol in Kerala. It controls the retail sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and beer trade in the state.

History

As per recommendation of a judicial commission, Kerala Government in 1984 amended the Abkari Act and set up a Public Sector Corporation to procure spirit and arrange blending, bottling, sealing and distribution of arrack and sale of IMFL.
Research by a Kochi-based think tank has suggested liberalization of India’s liquor industry to facilitate entry of foreign players, considering the sales growth in imported spirits across the country. According to think tank CPPR, the liquor market in India is the third largest and fastest growing. A significant part of this demand is met by domestic production. However the market operates under the strong regulatory framework and this has led to corruption, cronyism, exorbitant prices, black-marketing and public health concerns, thereby affecting the liquor quality.

Organisation

KSBC is one of the most profitable public sector units of Kerala. The company is headed by a board with six members. The territory along with it sales and warehousing is divided into three regions by the corporation. Each region is headed by a Regional Manager. KSBC has had record sales during Onam, Christmas & New Year with Chalakudi reporting the highest sales and Badiadka being the second Incidentally Chalakudi records an average daily sale of Rs. 5-7 lakhs. Rum and brandy together account for 94% of KSBC sales in Kerala. Kerala is the largest consumer of rum in India.
KSBC is having 23 Warehouses and 267 Retail Outlets throughout Kerala.

Social impact

With one of the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in India, alcohol-related problems are on the rise with even the President expressing deep concern about the rising alcoholism in Kerala.