No More Kingfisher Beer In Telangana

United Breweries, the maker of Kingfisher beer, announced today that it would stop the supply of all Kingfisher beer brands in Telangana with immediate effect due to "significant, ongoing operating losses".

In compliance with Regulation 30 of the SEBI Listing Regulations, the company informed SEBI that it had decided to suspend the supply of its beer to the Telangana Beverages Corporation Limited (TGBCL).

As per the company, this decision was made because TGBCL had not revised the basic price of the company's beer since 2019-20, resulting in substantial losses to the company.

While the Telangana government had raised beer prices for consumers, it has not increased the base price paid to manufacturers, UB claimed.

There were also significant overdue payments for past beer supplies, the company said. As a result, the continued supply of beer to TGBCL had become unviable, it said.

United Breweries manufactures beer brands popular in Telangana, including Kingfisher Light, Kingfisher Strong, Kingfisher Ultra and Kingfisher Ultramax. Industry sources report that Kingfisher brands account for about 60% to 70% of the total beer sales in Telangana.

Telangana Wine Dealers Association President D Venkateswara Rao urged the State government to take immediate steps to address the beer supply issue.

For the unversed, alcohol including beer in Telangana are bought by the government from the manufacturers (the government, through the TGBCL, is the only customer), and the government then retails the drinks through licensed shops.