In God we trust, in liquor we profit: Carew’s record Tk 190cr windfall

In the dry moral climate of Muslim-majority Bangladesh, where alcohol is officially frowned upon and strictly rationed, few would expect the government to be in the liquor business. Fewer still would imagine it to be one of the country’s most profitable enterprises. Yet that is precisely what Carew & Company (Bangladesh) Limited has become. The 87-year-old, state-owned distiller — the only legal maker of alcohol in the country — has just reported a record Tk 190 crore ($16.15 million) profit for the 2024–25 fiscal year, its highest since the company’s founding in 1938. Operating from a sprawling compound in the south-western town of Darshana, Carew’s distillery produces a dozen brands of spirits from molasses, a byproduct of sugarcane. Its liquor...