Today’s the day for a wee dram of whisky, as the world celebrates International Scotch Day.
The global phenomenon – which is the UK’s largest food and drink export by value – is celebrated on 8 February every year.
Why celebrate a drink? Well, according to The Scotch Whisky Experience, the drink has for centuries “drawn people together, and that rich history, heritage, and culture means that every bottle holds the promise of new experience and discovery for experts and newcomers alike”.
A stiff drink
But, as with any precious commodity, Scotch has had its ups and downs.
Graeme Littlejohn, director of strategy at the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), says the past few years have been “turbulent” due to the impacts of “the global pandemic and knock-on economic pressures”.
However, he says the drink’s “resilience” means its appeal has not yet been watered down.
"The past few years have been turbulent for the Scotch whisky industry, driven in part by the global pandemic and knock-on economic pressures.
“Despite this, the resilience of the industry is seen with our latest Economic Impact report, showing that the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the UK in 2022 reached £7.1bn in GVA (gross value added).”
Neat idea
Littlejohn does note that whisky, like all high value goods, is susceptible to the impacts of the ongoing cost of living crisis:
“Rising costs for consumers and businesses continue to remain a concern for businesses, however, and are a reminder that our success story cannot be taken for granted.”
He says the industry would like to see the government cut spirit duties to give it a “much-needed platform” for future growth.
"In 2024, we're calling for a cut to spirits duty in the Spring Budget, which would give the Scotch whisky industry a much-needed platform to push forward with continuing to grow at home and in our priority markets.
“This will allow us to invest in fulfilling our collective sustainability ambitions and to build more distilleries that will help boost jobs and growth, while growing our export figures.”
That’s the spirit
In terms of trade, Scotch is perhaps the industry with most to gain from the UK’s post-Brexit ability to strike its own trade deals.
Littlejohn highlights India and the US as key targets for future free trade agreements (FTAs).
"Internationally, we look to ongoing UK-India FTA talks and the potential export growth to India if the terms of an agreement could lower the 150% tariff on Scotch imports into the country.
“In the US, which has long been our biggest export market by value, we have marked the halfway point for the five-year removal of tariffs on single malt Scotch whisky.
“We have urged the UK government to press for longer-term tariff-free trade for Scotch and we look forward to continuing to share Scotch whisky with the world."
This is a sentiment shared by the food and drink industry more broadly, with Tee Sandhu, the cofounder of SamosaCo and a member of the Food and Drink Export Council, recently saying on an IOE&IT webinar:
“It’s an exciting time for UK exporters. Businesses selling high quality products, with significant export potential, are now gaining access to new markets as a result of the UK’s new trade agreements, such as Australia and CPTPP.”
Top sippers
At that webinar, Sandhu made the point that the EU remains a significant market for UK food and drink businesses – and this includes scotch.
SWA trade figures for H1 2023 found that France remained the UK’s second largest export market by value, behind only the US.
Although India sits in sixth place, EU member states Germany and Spain also sit in the top ten, at seventh and ninth respectively.
1. USA: £437m
2. France: £235m
3. Singapore: £165m
4. Taiwan: £149m
5. China: £135m
6. India: £94m
7. Germany: £91m
8. Japan: £86m
9. Spain: £81m
10. South Korea £64m