For producing value-added products and brewing alternative alcoholic drinks from agriculture products, Kerala has set aside Rs 2 crore in 2022-2023 state budget presented by Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Friday, March 11. “Steps will be taken to produce value-added products, such as ethanol, and beverages with low alcoholic content by making use of fruits and various agricultural products. An amount of Rs 2 crore is set aside for the project meant for production and other value-added products from tapioca at Tuber Crops Research Institute,Thiruvananthapuram, on a pilot basis,” the minister said in his budget presentation.
He also hinted at promoting small-scale manufacturing units that produce less alcoholic products. “As part of promoting the agricultural sector, small scale manufacturing units will be encouraged for making wine and other minor alcoholic beverages from fruits and crops other than food grains,” he said.
There is a restriction in the state on brewing and winemaking for commercial purposes by individuals or private firms, and the minister did not make it clear whether the whole project will be a government undertaking alone. He, however, added that all steps will be taken to encourage entrepreneurs in production of value-added products from agricultural resources.
“The government is committed to provide encouragement to these entrepreneurs. Effective steps will be taken for fast-track provision of getting permissions for standardization certificate and clinical trial facilities for entrepreneurs. Subsidy under simplified terms and loans with interest subvention will be made available to this sector,” the minister said.
Earlier, in the interim budget presented by KN Balagopal in 2021, the government had also spoken about production of ethanol from tapioca. He had said that Kerala has a huge tapioca production where sometimes farmers get only Rs 5 per kilogram for their produce. He had also then spoken about the possibility of brewing spirit out of tapioca, so that farmers get a good profit and this will help replace the other spirits with a healthier option.
In early 1990s, C Balakrishnan, the former private secretary of former Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon, had set up Superstar Distilleries and Foods at Thiruvilwamala, with an intention of brewing alcohol from tapioca. However, the project was not successful, as the starch content in the Kerala tapioca was found to be very low and its availability also went down in the 1990s. Now, the company is known as SDF Industries limited and is in the business of blending and bottling of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).