Wine worth Rs 500 cr to be sold in rural markets

NEW DELHI: Consumption of low-cost wine in rural Indian market is expected to touch the Rs 500-crore mark by end of this fiscal owed to increasing popularity of the drink amongst youth, industry chamber Assocham on Wednesday said.

Rural markets have recorded low-cost wine sales of nearly Rs 300 crore during the April-December period, Assocham said in a statement.

Assocham said total sales of low-cost wine in the country during the current fiscal are expected to touch the Rs 1,400-crore mark to which rural markets are likely to contribute Rs 500 crore.

"The total wine sales upto December 2007 countrywide has been estimated around Rs 1,000 crore in next 3 months, the wine sales is anticipated to touch levels of about Rs 1,400 crore," Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot.

The change in consumption pattern has been primarily because of health reasons as a large segment of population have started preferring wine over other alcoholic drinks, it said.

Dhoot said over 8.5 million litre of wine is likely to be sold during the current fiscal of which the rural is expected to buy 3.5 million litre.