Goa's most iconic alcoholic drink, feni, is under the threat of being corporatised, Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat said on Monday, amid reports that the Goa government is in the process of doing away with the practice of annually auctioning cashew plantations from which cashew apples are sourced for the distillation process.
The All Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association has also expressed fears that the government is tinkering with excise laws to facilitate the entry of corporate players into the state's traditional feni market.
"Feni has a tradition of the production process and needs to be preserved with auctioning of cashew groves and setting up of pot stills which is unique. The government must refrain from changing Excise Laws to facilitate entry of liquor barons and commercialisation of the heritage drink of Goa," Kamat.
"Any change to the existing Excise Act or Rules will bring about senses of cultural disarray, economic insecurity, confusion and monopolistic culture which will have a lasting detrimental effect on Goan traditional industry and Goa at large," Kamat also said.
Cashew feni is a double distilled alcohol sourced from fermented juice extracted from the cashew apple and is a popular alcoholic beverage in Goa. Feni is also the state's first Geographical Indication (GI) and it is also the first local liquor in the country to obtain the GI status, thanks to the unique traditional method employed to manufacture the drink. Over four lakh bulk litres of cashew feni is distilled in Goa every year, according to state excise department statistics.
Experts fear that by not auctioning government-owned cashew plantations to farmers, it would be impossible for local distillers to obtain the key raw material -- cashew apple juice -- required to process feni in the first place.
According to Hansel Vaz, a member of the All Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers Association, the alteration to the excise laws was an ominous sign for the local distillers as well as stakeholders like traditional feni brewers, cashew farmers, etc.
"The sinister plan is to remove, dilute and change all existing licensing, laws or governing hurdles in order to allow the mass production of feni and thereafter the wholesale takeover of the feni industry from Goans into the hands of big multinational corporations or the wolves of the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) lobby. This is about more than Feni – Goa and our entire way of life is under threat," said Vaz, who is a renowned feni distiller in the state and promotes a brand called 'Cazulo Premium Feni'.
In 2016, the state government had passed a law in the state legislative assembly elevating feni to a state heritage drink status.