The Dasara festival rush has pushed liquor depot sales in Telangana past the ₹2,000-crore mark in just 19 days of October, with supplies rising by 37.02% over the corresponding period last year. Beer volumes registered an even sharper increase of nearly 41%, as retailers stocked up ahead of the festival.
According to data shared by the Telangana Excise Department, in the daily sales figures, liquor worth ₹2,054.51 crore was supplied through depots between October 1 and 19, compared with ₹1,499.46 crore during the corresponding period in 2025, an increase of ₹555.05 crore.
The surge was particularly pronounced in the days leading up to Dasara, with October 19 recording sales of ₹303.40 crore, against ₹33.64 crore on the same date last year. This represented an increase of 801.90%, although the unusually high percentage also reflects differences in the festival calendar between the two years.
The volume of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) supplied on October 19 reached 2.72 lakh cases, compared with 0.30 lakh cases last year, while beer supplies stood at 4.25 lakh cases against 0.52 lakh cases on the corresponding date in 2025.
Festive demand drives sharp rise
The daily figures show how liquor supplies gathered momentum as the festival approached, with some of the highest sales recorded during the second half of October.
In 2025, on October 1, depot sales stood at ₹41.14 crore, a decline of 52.29% compared with ₹86.23 crore on the corresponding date last year. However, by October 3, sales had climbed to ₹144.10 crore. No sales were recorded on October 3, on account of Dasara, making a direct year-on-year percentage comparison impossible.
This year, on October 5, liquor supplies reached ₹176.43 crore, compared with ₹50.21 crore last year, an increase of 251.38%. Sales subsequently stood at ₹104.43 crore on October 6 and ₹84.27 crore on October 7.
The increase became more pronounced during the latter half of the month. On October 16, sales reached ₹126.32 crore, compared with ₹68.93 crore last year, an increase of 83.26%.
A day later, on October 17, liquor worth ₹223.25 crore was supplied through depots, compared with ₹89.28 crore on the corresponding date in 2025, registering an increase of 150.06%.
By October 19, the single-day sales figure had climbed to ₹303.40 crore, taking cumulative sales beyond ₹2,000 crore.
Beer volumes record sharper growth
While the value of liquor supplied increased by 37.02% during the first 19 days of October, beer volumes grew faster than those of IMFL.
IMFL supplies reached 18.38 lakh cases during the period, compared with 14.16 lakh cases last year, an increase of 29.80%. Beer supplies, meanwhile, rose from 21.55 lakh cases to 30.37 lakh cases, registering an increase of 40.93%.
The figures indicate a substantial increase in beer stocking during the festive period, although they do not establish how much of the supplied stock was sold directly to consumers.
The cumulative figures reveal how quickly the value of liquor supplies increased during the month. As of October 7, sales stood at ₹550.37 crore, only marginally higher than the ₹549.38 crore recorded during the corresponding period in 2025, reflecting growth of just 0.18%.
By October 16, cumulative sales had climbed to ₹1,527.85 crore, registering an increase of 24.99% over last year. On October 17, the figure reached ₹1,751.07 crore, with year-on-year growth rising to 33.50%.
The latest figures, recorded after the closure of all depots at 11 p.m. on October 19, placed cumulative sales at ₹2,054.51 crore.
The difference in the Dasara calendar is significant when comparing the figures. While the festival fell on October 2 last year, it was observed on October 20 this year, shifting the period of peak festive stocking.