Missing summer heats in India
Indian summer especially on the Gangatic plain (the area around river Yamuna, covering most of north India) can be harsh and cruel. Temperatures of up to 44 degree Celsius are considered as normal in the months of April, May and June. Incidentally, these three months (also 1st quarter of Indian financial year) are the best period for beer producers in India. Along with North India, most of the country is in the grip of a severe heat wave during this period. With the mercury level rising, the cash registers of beer producers tick non-stop as the sales of chilled beer goes up substantially during this period. This three months period is the busiest period for beer producers accounting for about one-third of the annual sales of beer in the country.
The huge northern belt of India is experiencing a downslide in the beer sales since the onset of summers in mid March. Less than the average temperatures in Northern India are pinching the beer producers. Though sales figures of Delhi and other states will only be available after six months, the beer vends are already clearly missing the usual throng of customers. Last year, India’s beer consumption in the peak summer months declined for the first time in eight years ( 2003 was another year of decline) due to lower-than-usual summer temperatures. In 2011, the first quarter summer volume sales at 71 million cases (of 9 liter each) were 5 percent below the 2010 figures. The country’s two largest brewers United Breweries (UB) and SABMiller had to admit that the industry sales dropped between 4 to 5 percent in the April to June quarter of 2011. The national capital, New Delhi, is taken as a barometer of the north’s demand. According to last year’s data for May from the Delhi Excise Department, Delhi consumed 1.249 million cases of beer last May as compared to about 1.5 million cases during the same month in the year before.
Beer companies cited the state of the economy and economic slowdown as possible causes of less sales of beers in last summer. But this explanation seems to run hollow as hard liquor registered an increase in sales during the same period.
Besides summers, Indian Premier League ( IPL), a one-and-a-half month-long Cricket event is also considered a big opportunity for the beer industry. Beer producers leave no stone unturned to increase their visibility (due to ban on direct advertisement ) during the IPL event. The country’s largest brewer, UBL (incidentally it owns a cricket team in IPL) spends about 20 percent of its marketing budget on this event. “IPL happens during the beer drinking season. When it is peak summer, beer consumption goes up,” according to Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President Marketing, United Breweries Ltd.
