India: United Breweries confident of maintaining its market share despite competition

Bengaluru-based United Breweries Ltd. is confident of maintaining its market share despite stiff competition and rising taxes, Bloomberg reported on February 27.

The beer industry is extremely taxed, Managing Director Shekhar Ramamurthy told BloombergQuint in an interview. He taxes on liquor is highest in India compared to anywhere else in the world.

“Since alcoholic drinks are out of the GST [ambit], states government tax them higher to boost revenues,” he said.

Despite this the country’s second largest alcohol maker gained 1.5-2 percent market share in the last 12 months, Ramamurthy said adding that it aims to add further market shares in the next three years.