25 Nov 2020 | 03:49am IST
THE GOAN SPIRIT WILL GET DAMPENED IF THE ‘FENI’ LINE IS CROSSED
The excise department has decided to tweak the rules and regulations to do away with the process of auctioning cashew zones have caught the local industry by surprise. Café spoke to the major players in the market for their view. A move mooted by the Excise department to tweak rules and regulations to do away with auctioning cashew zones has prompted the feni distilling local industry to rise in protest fearing disruption this upcoming 2020-21 season. This has to be taken mote of since feninis not just another drink. It’s a part of Goan ethos.
Team Cafe
Feni is
to Goa what romance
is to Paris. It is a
very passionate relationship built over a couple of centuries. Feni was
consumed and talked about all over the state and by its diaspora settled all
over the world. The systems were in place and the production, its sale and
consumption was going on quite smoothly. Yes, there were issues that cropped up
from time to time like it would in any business. But now, a move pushed by the
Excise department could cause a lot of hurt and anguish smog those who produce
market and sell cashew feni.
They would like to tweak the rules and
regulations and do away with auctioning cashew zones which could disrupt the
business. Hansel Vaz, Secretary of the Goa Cashew Feni Distillers and Bottlers
Association and owner of a popular brand said Feni was the last indigenous
spirit to have a structure and he empahised it was a culture they wanted to
keep alive.
He said “We consider ourselves custodians of the spirit. You
have to understand we have done a lot of work. Maharashtra is now open to us as
a market. The taxes are very high but the market is ripe for the picking. We
have to be very cautious; we have experiences to learn from other parts of
India”. He said he did not agree with the campaign of vilification against the
Excise department. The Iaw giving the industry the benefit of excise was always
beneficial to the industry. The new rules he said were ok but the underlying
deviousness which was possible was what was making them nervous. The system
which was followed did not allow for monopoly but these changes could alter
that situation.
Mac Vaz Founder President, Cashew Fenny Distillers and Bottlers
Association and a player in the business felt in policy making it was always
important to see distant fallouts.
He said that this suggested policy change must have had a good
intentions but it would have unfathomable consequences that would cripple the
grass root farmer and distiller. He said “I would draw a parallel with the
apprehensions that have stirred up the Punjab farmers with the 3 farm bills.
Like Dr Kuriens Amul movement the focus should be on keeping the grassroots
motivated; in this case it is the Kazkar and Bhattikar.”
Donovan Vaz restaurateur and player in the Feni business said
this move just did not make sense. He said “They are trying to change what
tradition was. A lot of farmers will be out of business. The smaller guys who
were distillers will disappear. Everybody likes to drink cashew juice in April
and they would usually go over to the local guy and have a drink. Now with
these changes people will have to go and stand outside a factory in Verna or
Pilerne to have some juice. This has not been thought through. The fruits will
rot if it is transported from one place to another. They have to take everybody
into account. You have to also understand Feni has a GI status. That means
certain rules and regulations. The government is sidelining the geographical
index. In France there are vineyards where they distill it there. This plan to
take it from different places and place it all in one place will mean the
subtle differences that are unique to each place. From the north to the south,
it is so different”. He said this was a destruction of tradition and heritage
of a place.
Another senior player in the market who did not want to be named
said this proposal would leave a lot of people without a job. The government he
said could earn very good revenue by removing the business of tenders which
took a lot of time. They could stick to auction one and auction two. They would
reduce the time considerably. He however felt this could be an attempt by a big
player to enter the market and push out the small players and even more
worryingly an attempt to take land in the inlands especially in places like
Pernem where several of the cashew zones were located.
One
can only hope, this assault on the culture and tradition of Goa is repulsed.
Feni is after all in the DNA of each Goan.
