Nova Scotians Spent Nearly $800-Million On Alcohol And Cannabis In The Last Year
HALIFAX — Nova Scotians bought significantly more alcohol and cannabis over the last 12 months than they did the previous year.
The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation released its year-end financial results today, covering its fiscal year from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021.
The crown corporation says it sold more than $791-million worth of products over that time, which is a jump of almost $67-million, or 9.2 percent, compared to the 2019/2020 fiscal year.
The corporation sold more of every type of booze it carries but saw a major boost to cannabis sales, which spiked by more than 21 percent, to $86-million for the year.
On the beverage side, consumer taste continued to shift, with sales of ready-to-drink products like vodka coolers (think Le Croix) jumping by almost 80 percent, to $28.6-million.
Sales of spirits were up by nearly 20 percent (or $11.2-million), wine sales grew by more than eight percent (or $13.6-million), and craft beer sales spiked by nearly 11 percent (or $22.3-million).
The higher craft beer sales came partly after the corporation made several changes to policies around stocking local beer, in response to a scolding from the province’s auditor general for its “poor accountability” and lack of long-term planning in its craft beer strategy.
Altogether, the NSLC sold 849,585 hectolitres of liquor over its last fiscal year, compared to 803,134 hectolitres in 2019/2020.
The difference is equivalent to more than 6.3 million extra bottles of wine over the last 12-month period.
Those extra sales came despite sales to licensees falling substantially. The NSLC says sales to bars, restaurants, and pubs were down by nearly 53 percent.
However, sales to private wine and specialty stores were up 7.9 percent and sales to agency stores were up 35.7 percent.
The NSCL has also seen significantly higher consumer sales since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Not only are people buying more, but the way they are buying is changing.
People are taking fewer trips to liquor stores but buying more each time they visit. The NSLC says its total transactions dropped by nearly 9 percent over the last fiscal year while the average value of each transaction rose by nearly 25 percent.
More information on the NSLC’s year-end financials is available here.