Scotch whisky maintains export boom

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 17 August, 2023

Scotch whisky has managed to maintain its momentum on the export market following a record-breaking year in 2022, with the first six months of 2023 bringing home over £2.5bn.

Data from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) shows the value of Scotch exports held steady when compared with the first half of 2022 – a year which returned record export figures as markets grew and restocked following the pandemic.

Export value in the first half 2023 was £2.57bn, down just 3.6% on 2022. In the same period, the volume of exports fell 20% to the equivalent of 630m 70cl bottles.

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The largest export destinations for Scotch whisky by value for the first six months of 2023 were: USA, £437m (-5% on H1 2022); France, £235m (+4%); Singapore, £165m (+59%); Taiwan, £149m (+21%); and China, £135m (+39.5%).

The rest of the top ten were India, Germany, Japan, Spain and South Korea.

This strong export performance reflects the continued global trend of premiumisation in the spirits category, the SWA said. The category has benefitted from continued trading up to single malts and premium blends, including blended malt.

“2022 was an exceptional year for Scotch whisky exports, breaking records in both value and volume,” SWA chief executive Mark Kent said.

“Around the world, we continue to see the same trend – consumers drinking less overall and switching to higher quality spirits like Scotch whisky. Premiumisation in the spirits category didn’t start during Covid-19, but the pandemic certainly accelerated the trend, and it remains the case that consumers are trading up, enjoying premium spirits and consuming fewer units of alcohol. Scotch whisky remains well placed to benefit from this shift.”

The US remains Scotch whisky’s biggest export market by value, while France reclaimed its longstanding position as the largest export destination by volume. India remains a high-volume export market for Scotch, with the equivalent of 72m bottles exported in the first half of 2023.

The SWA is now continuing to focus on communicating the benefits of a UK-India FTA, which would look to address trade barriers including the existing 150% tariff. A phased removal of this tariff would benefit industries in both the UK and India, and could see the value of Scotch exports to this market grow to more than £1bn within five years, the SWA said.

On the subject of duty, the SWA called on the UK government not to take the “success of the Scotch whisky industry for granted”. The recent 10.1% increase to excise duty is in danger of further “widening of the tax gap between spirits with beer and cider”.

Kent continued: “The recent double-digit tax hike on Scotch whisky in the UK – the largest in 40 years – and the deepening of the competitive disadvantage faced by distillers versus other alcohol categories, was a blow to the industry.

“The future potential growth of the industry, in terms of exports, job creation and investment across Scotland and our UK supply chain, is dependent on working in partnership with government.”

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