In the time of the coronavirus, booze costs 10 times the MRP

Profiteering at peak

Guess what’s as costly as gold in the times of the Covid-19 lockdown? No prizes for guessing. It’s alcohol.

With its sale banned, alcohol is selling almost 10 times its maximum retail price (MRP) in many parts of Bengaluru. And it’s not just foreign liquor but also the cheap liquor that’s being sold for a premium.

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Consider this. A quarter bottle (180 ml) of liquor that earlier cost Rs 65 to Rs 73 is now being sold for a mind-boggling Rs 800, illegally of course. Blended scotch whisky such as Teacher’s and Dewar’s, whose MRP is up to Rs 2,000, will cost you upwards of Rs 6,000.

People in the know say the prices shot up right after the state government announced a lockdown on March 21. With supplies squeezed, demand skyrocketed in on time.

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The owners of many MRP outlets and bars quickly shifted their stock to their homes and those of their managers and cashiers. They knew the demand would surge and customers would approach them. So they hiked the prices in no time.

In the initial days of the lockdown, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) conducted several raids and seized hundreds of liquor bottles. These raids, however, did little to stop the illegal sale or deter the profiteers.

More than scotch, it’s whisky, brandy, rum and other cheap liquor that’s in high demand. Until April 13 — just a day before the first phase of the lockdown was to end — liquor was sold in the ratio of 1:5 (five times the MRP). But once it was clear that the sale of alcohol won’t be allowed for a few more days as the lockdown would continue, the ratio became 1:10.

Most of the bar owners are selling liquor only through their employees. The price is fixed over the phone and the liquor is delivered home. But no new customers are entertained, as the bar owners fear they could be plain-clothesmen or police informers.

Speaking to DH, the owner of a wine store in southern Bengaluru said he had run out of stock in the first week of the lockdown itself. “We expected the prices to shoot up, so we stopped selling,” he said.

Since April 14, customers have stopped even caring about the brand, the shopkeeper said. “We have been getting too many calls. Customers don’t care about any brand. They just want alcohol,” he explained.

A quarter liquor that costs Rs 70 is in high demand. Scotch is also selling more but since it costs upwards of Rs 6,000, not many customers go for it, he added.

Ramesh, who drinks almost daily, said he had paid Rs 1,600 for a quarter each of Haywards Punch and Prestige. A supplier brought two quarters separately on the night of April 14, he said. “I didn’t want to pay so much but had run out of stock and wasn’t getting proper sleep for almost a week,” Ramesh said. “I had no other option.”

Karthik, another customer, said he bought two bottles of Dewar’s last week for Rs 6,000. When he contacted the supplier again, he quoted Rs 5,000 for each bottle. “I’ll just run out of money if I have to keep buying,” he said.