Irish alcoholic beverage exports rose 4% last year to €1.4 billion, with whiskey in particular seeing a jump of 8%, to reach €505 million.
The findings were revealed in the Bord Bia Export Performance and Prospects Report 2016-2017, published earlier this week.
According to Ross MacMathúna, Director of Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland (ABFI), a group that represents brewers, distillers and drinks distributors in Ireland, “The drinks industry is the export powerhouse delivering growth for our food and drinks sector, and is wholly committed to making a make a valuable contribution to Ireland’s exciting agri-food sector despite the political and economic uncertainty in the wake of Brexit."
Irish whiskey has seen a fourfold increase in sales over the past decade, making it the fastest-growing global spirits category, ABFI said.
"This figure is set to exceed 12 million cases by 2020 and 24 million cases by 2030," said MacMathúna. "In 2013, there were just 4 distilleries in Ireland, today there are 16 in production and 13 in planning in 18 counties across Ireland."
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
