What is your reaction to the mini Exim Policy announced by Mr. Jaitley?
Rajeev -The new policy extending the duty free benefits is unfortunate. We had made a representation to the Commerce Minister saying that wine is an agro-product, in fact one of the most heavily subsidized agro-products in the EU. When they are supposed to be fighting against agricultural subsidies, it is totally incompatible to allow the entry of duty-free wines.

What would you have liked to see in the Policy?
Rajeev - We proposed that the overall duty on wine could be brought down to something closer to 100% (from the current 140%-250%) with a minimum of Rs. 150 per bottle. That would have made the better wines a lot more affordable than they are now, but would have blocked the cheap subsidized wines. We also proposed that if the policy is here to stay, the local players should be given deemed export status for their wine sales to hotels. This would significantly reduce the cost of production.
But the powers that be don't seem to realize that there is a local wine industry, that has great potential and that has come a long way in the last 5 years or so. The really sad bit is that we are effectively blocked from selling our wine in states like AP and Kerala. But duty free wines are having a field day. Where is the level playing field?

Are you now going to increase your portfolio of imported wines?
Rajeev - We are committed to bringing in a strong basket of imported wines, and we are increasing our portfolio all the time. Our latest imports are Santa Rita from Chile and Trapiche from Argentina, two of the world's best-known brands from these regions. We have also just signed up with Chianti Ruffino, another stellar producer. Our BIO business is growing steadily, and it will form an important part of our overall business.

Do you see lower prices of imported wines for the consumer?
Rajeev: Regarding prices, so far there hasn't been much effect on wine lists. But with the Commerce Minister making it clear that he wants hotels to pass on the duty reduction, we expect to see a pretty significant drop in hotel wine prices in the months to come.

Most restaurants however will not be able to do much with the new  policy, as the amount of wine they can buy is paltry, compared to the big hotel chains.

(For more information on Sula wines or to exchange views with Mr. Rajeev Samant visit
www.sulawines.com Subhash Arora )

Other Related Topics:
Wines of Nasik and Sula Wine Tasting