Thiruvanathapuram:
Sales have fallen with the new liquor policy being in force in Kerala since September, a minister said on Friday.
Excise Minister K Babu told reporters that ever since the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government assumed office in 2011, the rate of growth of liquor sales, which stood at 21 per cent, has been steadily coming down and it became negative last year.
"With the figures now out for the first half year of the current fiscal, the total liquor sale has dropped by four per cent as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal. Our anti-liquor campaign has gone down well," said Mr Babu.
Releasing the half-yearly figures, Mr Babu said 116.15 lakh cases were sold during April-September 2014 as against 120.70 lakh cases during April-September 2013. Sale of beer also fell from 50.63 lakh cases to 46.94 lakh cases during the same period.
"The sale value in rupee terms might have gone up because there was an increase in liquor price and also because an additional five per cent cess has been introduced," said Mr Babu.