Women account for 31 per cent of the total alcohol consumption in China

According to the latest Datamonitor report, the demand for alcoholic beverages in India is growing faster among women than in men.

The study notes that wine occasions -- the number of times it is consumed -- for women grew 100 per cent during 2004-09, with beer and spirits following at 66 and by 32 per cent, respectively. The corresponding statistics for men are 100 per cent for wine, 47 per cent for beer and 29 per cent for spirits. Incidentally, the report takes into account consumption at retail outlets alone, so the actual figures could be much higher.

Yet when you look at it from the general perspective, women constitute only 3 per cent of the total market, which compares even poorly to the global trend where women comprise a third of the total consumer base. Even in China, women account for 31 per cent of the total alcohol consumption.