A heady aroma of malt and brewing yeast drifts through Pakistan’s oldest and, by far, largest brewery, which is gearing up for expansion after receiving approval to sell abroad after a nearly 50-year ban.

Bottles and cans clatter along the production lines at Murree Brewery, founded in 1860 to quench the thirst of British soldiers and the colonial community during the Raj. It has survived opposition and strict regulations to become one of Pakistan’s most well-known companies.

“It’s a journey of a roller-coaster and resilience,” Isphanyar Bhandara, the third generation of his family to run the business, told AFP in an interview.

“Getting permission to export is another happy milestone,” he added. “My grandfather and late father tried to get the export licence, but couldn’t get it. Just because, you know, we are an Islamic country.”

However, Bhandara said he got “a rude surprise” in 2017 when the Chinese-run Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery got permission to brew beer in Pakistan, mainly for the thousands of Chinese working on major infrastructure projects in the country.

“What happened to all the lectures?” said Bhandara, who hails from the small but influential Parsi community and is also a lawmaker in the National Assembly.

Soon, he embarked on the years-long lobbying effort to lift the export ban.

Peculiar profits

Originally housed in the mountains outside Islamabad, Murree’s red-brick facility now sits in Rawalpindi.

Revenue surpassed $100 million in the fiscal year to June, with alcohol sales generating just over half of the total and non-alcoholic drinks and bottle making accounting for the rest.

Expanding horizons

Before the export ban, Murree had sold its products in neighbouring India and Afghanistan, but also in Gulf countries and as far as the United States.

“It sounds very strange or very bizarre today, but we were exporting to Kabul,” Bhandara said.

Murree has already made limited shipments to Japan, Britain and Portugal as it explores distribution channels and strategies.

“Right now, the target is not revenue or to make money… the target is to explore new markets”, Bhandara said.

The company, which has around 2,200 employees, is looking in particular at Europe, but is also weighing a move into Asian and African markets. Selling abroad could also give Murree a chance to promote its history and brand in ways unimaginable at home.

“We are not allowed to advertise, so we keep our heads down — we try to make a good beer with our heads down,” Bhandara said.