Despite opening up all its bars ahead of the festive season, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (Tasmac) saw its Deepavali sales dwindle by 4.67%, compared to last year. The final sales figure stood at ₹444.03 crore. On November 3, liquor sales touched ₹214.61 crore and on the next day the numbers went up to ₹229.42 crore.

Last year, Tasmac, reputed as the cash cow of the Tamil Nadu government, fetched ₹465.79 crore in revenue in two days through retail liquor sale during Deepavali. On the day of the festival, liquor worth ₹237.91 crore was sold. On the day before the festival, November 13, Tasmac registered sales worth ₹227.88 crore.

“Despite COVID-19 the sales numbers were good last year because liquor prices were hiked before the festive season. But if you look at the data closely, last year the numbers were flat,” a source at Tasmac pointed out. “This year people’s income levels continue to be low, and not all sectors got good bonuses. People are also being slightly cautious when it comes to spending, considering a potential third wave of COVID-19,” he added. Those tracking the industry have indicated that the sales could go up slightly over the weekend.

This year, on November 3, Chennai region clocked sales of ₹38 crore, while Madurai and Salem zones sold liquor worth ₹47.21 crore and ₹44.27 crore respectively. Tiruchi area fetched ₹43.38 crore and the Coimbatore belt saw sales touch ₹41.75 crore.

Sales data provided for November 4 shows that Chennai region made ₹41.84 crore, Madurai ₹51.68 crore, Salem ₹46.62 crore, Tiruchi ₹47.57 crore and Coimbatore ₹41.71 crore. The manager in charge of an outlet in Chennai said that had the bars not re-opened from November 1, sales would have dropped even further.

On an average Tasmac sells liquor worth over ₹130 crore to ₹140 crore per day through its over 5,300 shops across the state.