Control on liquor import boosts local Carew sales
With restrictions on liquor import, Carew & Company (Bangladesh) Limited, the only licensed alcohol-producing distillery in the country, has recently witnessed a remarkable growth with its total sales crossing the Tk400 crore mark for the first time in its history.
In the fiscal 2021-22, Carew & Co sold nearly 10 lakh proof litres (measure of ethanol content in an alcoholic beverage) more liquor than in the previous fiscal year.
Liquor import through legal channels dropped following the National Board of Revenue's (NBR) ban to curb tax evasion last year. As a result, demand for locally produced alcohol went up in the local market and subsequently Carew went for increasing production. The move paid off big time for the state-owned company.
According to company sources, Carew's distillery unit registered Tk367 crore in sales, which is the highest in the company's history.
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Carew & Co, which is supervised under the Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation, made a profit of over Tk100 crore from its distillery unit, also a first. The figure hovered around Tk90 crore in the previous year.
On the other hand, Carew's sugar unit incurred big losses and the company authorities are yet to determine the exact amount.
But, officials say, even after adjusting losses from the sugar unit, Carew's net profit for FY2021-22 will be over Tk70 crore, while profit in FY21 was Tk14.63 crore.
"Sales have increased by 25-30% compared to last year. Various steps by the government have helped the company to increase its sales," Muhammad Mosaruf Hossain, managing director of Carew & Co, told The Business Standard.
"To meet increased demand, we have increased utilisation of our existing capacity. Even if demand increases further, we will be able to meet that as a large portion of our total production capacity still remains unutilised," he added.
Carew & Co, which was established in Chuadanga in 1938, currently has six units – sugar, distillery, pharmaceuticals, commercial farm, Akandabaria Farm (experimental), and bio-fertiliser.
Of them only the distillery and the organic fertiliser units are profitable.
The company produces alcohol and different kinds of spirits from the molasses of sugarcane juice, which are by-products of sugar production.
Three by-products are found after extracting sugarcane juice for sugar production, including molasses, bagasse and press mud.
Molasses is the main ingredient in liquor or alcohol production. Alcohol is made after processing yeast with molasses.
The distillery unit of Carew & Company manufactures nine brands of liquor, including Yellow Level Malted Whiskey, Gold Ribbon Gin, Fine Brandy, Cherry Brandy, Imperial Whiskey, Orange Curaçao, Tsarina Vodka, Rosa Rum and Old Rum.
Carew & Co has three sales centres in Dhaka, Chattogram and Darsana of Chuadanga district.
The company is currently setting up another two sales centres in Cox's Bazar and Kuakata of Patuakhali district and planning to establish three more warehouses.
According to sources, the company also plans on increasing liquor production through automation instead of using the manual system.
The project is under process, said officials, adding that once implemented, it is expected to double production capacity.
The history of Carew & Co (Bangladesh) Ltd can be traced back to 1803, when the distillery was established by the British businessman John Maxwell.
He built the distillery in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, in then British India. The distillery is considered to be the first of its kind in the subcontinent.
Subsequently, Carew opened branches in Asansol, Katni, and Darsana (East Bengal, which became East Pakistan in 1947).
In 1971 East Pakistan became independent Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Liberation War.
The government of Bangladesh nationalised the distillery at Darsana in 1973 and the company became Carew & Co (Bangladesh) Ltd.
