For the first time in history, Scotland brewed and exported over £6.2 billion worth Scotch Whisky during the year 2022, according to figures released by Scotch Whisky Association. Due to the post Covid-19 recovery across Asia Pacific region, countries such as India, Singapore and China reported double digit growth during the period.
India replaced France as the world’s largest Scotch Whisky market in the world by volume. However, Scotch Whisky comprises only 2% of the Indian Whisky market in India. The United States continued to be the single largest market in the world with a net import of over £ 1 Bn. During a year of significant economic headwinds and global supply chain disruption, the Scotch Whisky industry continued to be an anchor of growth, supporting investment and job creation across Scotland and the UK.
Commenting on the figures, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association Mark Kent said: “The enduring strength of Scotch Whisky as the UK’s leading food and drink export is its global appeal to consumers who recognise the quality of the spirit, with production increasingly grounded in sustainable practices as we continue to reduce our impact on the environment by investing in the future. Passing £6bn in export value for the first time is a milestone, and testament to the work of our member companies and the tens of thousands of employees across Scotland and the UK supply chain who make Scotch Whisky a global success story of which we are rightly proud”.
Export volume of Scotch Whisky in 2022 was 1.67bn 70cl bottles (equivalent), up 291m 70cl bottles compared with 2021 and up 364m compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic). On average, the equivalent of 53 bottles of Scotch Whisky were exported every second in 2022, up from 44 per second in 2021 to 174 global markets. Bottled Blended Scotch Whisky accounted for 59% of value exports, with Single Malt 32% all Scotch Whisky exports by value.
