Pakistan: Pakistan�s only brewery to manufacture hand sanitizers

Murree Brewery Co., Pakistan’s only maker of alcoholic beverages, plans to manufacture hand sanitizers after a surge in demand led to fake and ineffective hand washes propping up at stores, Bloomberg reported on April 3.

The company has been given permission to make 10,000 gallons of sanitizers a month, Chief Executive Officer Isphanyar Bhandara said by phone. The Punjab excise department did not respond to a request for comment.

The coronavirus outbreak earlier this year resulted in a run on sanitizers and lured manufacturers to sell products without the necessary alcohol content needed to kill viruses. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government ordered 23 brands that did not meet World Health Organization standards to be removed from stores. The virus has infected about 2,000 people and killed 34 in the South Asian nation.

Pakistan has been locked down as the government tried to stop the disease from spreading. The Rawalpindi-based Murree has also urged the government to reopen liquor stores to stop the rising sales of toxic illegal liquor that has killed people.

Khan’s government announced a stimulus package of more than 400 billion rupees ($2.5 billion) while the central bank announced an interest-rate cut in an unscheduled meeting to support the slowing economy. Moody’s Investors Service revised its forecast for Pakistan’s growth to range between 2% and 2.5%, the lowest in a decade, from an earlier forecast of 2.9%.