In a recent report in the Economic Times, Mr. Jaideep Kale, technical coordinator at the Maharashtra Wine Park, declares the increase in consumption of imported wines to about 45,000 cases in 6 years from 2001 to 2007. He has reportedly commented, 'the consumption of foreign wines in the country for the last seven years has increased by a mere 400,000 litres compared to an astounding 6 million litres growth for domestic wine in the same period.'

This is quite incomprehensible. The growth of just one importer, Brindco who is the biggest in India, has been more than the figures quoted by Mr. Kale. According to Aman Dhall, owner of Brindco, he imported 4,200 cases in 2001 while last year he has imported 57,000 cases. Even if one takes a figure of 10% as the unsold inventory, in addition to previous year's unsold wine, the sale may be presumed to be 51,000 cases.

This is an increase of 46,500 cases of 9 liters. Translated to 418,500 litres increase!

In 2001, the number of importers barely touches two-figures. Today the number is raring to touch the three-digit mark. It is generally a consensus that the imports in the past year have touched 200,000 case mark.

Despite the importers claiming a poor environment for growth of foreign wines, a survey conducted by Indian Wine Academy last month indicates that the sale of imported wine has been more than 220,000 cases, excluding bulk wine imports, hand-carried wine by air travellers and the smuggled wine which is available in Mumbai and the south of India but for which no statistics are available.

In one year alone, the growth of imported wine has been to the tune of over 50,000 cases, at an annual growth of 30%; last year's estimate was 160,000-170,000 cases.

Undoubtedly the growth of Indian wines has been faster-more than 30%; in fact around 40%. The big three- Indage, Sula and Grover have achieved an average of over 30% and with the new wineries springing up and having triple-figure jumps in revenues over the small base, 40% is perhaps a conservative estimate.

However, the report intrigues further when it says that the 'domestic wine consumption touched more than 10 million litres in 2007, and may go up to 15 million litres for the current year, from a mere 1 million litres in 2001,' and at the same time claiming only 'an astounding 6 million litres growth for domestic wine in the same period.' Either the sales was 3 million cases in 2001 or the 2007 figures would be 7 million liters, nes pas?

The 2006   IWSR  report which had estimated a total wine consumption in India at 17 million litres for 2011 and a similar study by Rabo Bank and indeed the 50-year Future Report by Berry Bros. & Rudd released a couple of weeks ago and reported by delWine only give a rough indication of the current market or the future estimates.

The market is so much government- controlled that their policies can change the direction at all times and governments as we know have no known or set direction. Recent example of the Delhi government chickening out of announcing the sale of wines in supermarket when nearby Gurgaon is very liberal is only an illustration.

What we do know for a fact is that the current alcohol market in India is huge. Including beer, wine and spirits, it is estimated at 500 million cases. This includes the undeclared and unaccounted for sale where the numbers are always estimates and are disputable.

Incidentally, the article gloats over last year's tax reduction and says 'import duties on wines have plummeted'. The fact that the excise duty has been increased to 200% in Maharashtra, the biggest wine consuming state has been ignored. While the Additional Customs Duties of about 100% have been eliminated, they are still high at 150%. The basic duty has actually been increased from 100% to 150% (which in fact works out to 160% including the refundable 4% SAD, which is not easy to get back according to the importers).

With the low base at half a percent of total alcohol consumption, anything between 50-60% growth per year should be achievable and doable if the government policies are positively tuned to wine and its health benefits and it is considered a food product rather than spirits.

Subhash Arora

Delhi Wine Club advises consumption of quality wine – in moderation. More than two standard drinks of wine or other alcoholic drinks are harmful. Our objective is to make people realize the health benefits and shift to wine-editor