Goa's famed feni liquor to be produced in Kerala shortly

If Goa is known for the 3 Fs – Fish, Football and Feni – Kerala had football and fish. But now, the state is all set to produce Goa’s most sought after indigenous drink. A co-operative bank in Kannur has finally managed to procure the licence to produce the famed feni, which is expected to also give a boost to Kerala tourism.

For TM Joshi, the president of Payyavoor Co-operative Bank, this is a dream come true. He had applied for the licence to produce feni in 2016 itself, as soon as the Pinarayi Vijayan government came to power. 

He told The Federal that producing feni was his cherished dream since 1990. “I have been travelling to Goa, where my brother lives, since the 1990s. Inspired by the food, drink and Goan culture, I wanted to start feni production at a commercial level. Unfortunately, I could not manage to get a licence for three decades,” said Joshi.

Against popular sentiment

Bureaucratic lethargy was not the only reason for this delay. “None of the governments dared to announce the introduction of a new alcoholic drink. I knew Pinarayi Vijayan would be daring enough to do it. Hence, I applied again as soon as he became the Chief Minister,” he recalled. 

Though Kerala’s consumption of alcohol is considered to be high (the National Family Health Survey revealed that Kerala leads in alcohol consumption nationwide), the anti-liquor mindset is extremely strong in the state, especially among religious groups, and political parties are reluctant to defy them. 

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The Payyavoor Co-operative Bank has submitted a detailed project report to the government and is planning to start production by December. “The Kerala State Beverages Corporation will buy the drink at a price that would be reasonably profitable for both the farmers and workers,” added Joshi.

Efforts to commercialise cashew apple

The Goan feni is distilled from fermented cashew apple juice that contains 45 per cent alcohol and is considered a strong alcoholic beverage.

Kerala is one of the big cashew producing states along with Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Odisha, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It occupies 8.7 per cent of the total area of cashew production in India. Within the state, Kannur district occupies a predominant place in the production of cashew, having the largest area of cultivation of the cash crop. 

Despite being a major cash crop supporting the state’s economy, Kerala is yet to explore the potential of the cashew apple, which is a rich source of minerals and vitamins.

The efforts to commercialise cashew apple by making products such as vinegar and carbonated cashew apple drink failed to take off. None of these cashew apple products managed to attain the popularity that feni has in Kerala, with people travelling all the way to Goa to stock up. 

“The cashew apple is very delicious and healthy, but tonnes of cashew apple go unused in our state. I hope this situation will change and more farmers will now turn to cashew cultivation,” said Joshi.

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Cashew cultivation data indicate that the state should have turned to the production of feni much earlier. According to the statistics, there is a 51 per cent decline in the production of cashew over a period of three decades. The sharp drop is due to the expansion of other cash crops such as rubber, along with a  shift in agricultural farming patterns and the nature of the soil. Climate change has also been a major factor hitting cashew farming in Kerala.

Maharashtra is the only state outside Goa that produces feni for commercial purposes.  Kerala is poised to be the next state to join the team, when Payyavoor Co-operative Bank launches its production in the next few months.