Sales of scotch whiskey rose by 10.8% to £2.19 billion in the first half of 2019, according to an IWSR report based on data from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA).
The volume of exports of scotch whiskey increased by 7.1% to 598 million 70 centilitre bottles during this period, data showed.
Growth In Export
The popularity of single malts continued to grow with exports growing by 18.8%, to £652 million, in the first six months of 2019, accounting for 30% of the value of all Scotch shipped overseas. The exports of blended Scotch grew 7.5% to £1.35 billion during the period.
Chief executive of SWA, Karen Betts, said that the demand for Scotch whiskey is witnessing an upward trend in developing markets like India as well as established ones such as the US, Japan, and Germany.
However, the SWA also pointed out that the increase in shipments of Scotch during the first half could also be a part of stockpiling measures in anticipation of a disorderly Brexit.
Global Consumption
According to forecasts by the IWSR, the global consumption of Scotch whiskey is expected to reach 103.1 million 9-litre cases in 2023, up from 95.3 million in 2018.
Research director at IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, Humphrey Serjeantson, commented, "While blends will still account for the lion’s share of Scotch, malts will grow at a faster rate (4.1% vs 1.2%), showing that consumers worldwide are increasingly willing to pay more as they learn about the range and variety of single malts on offer, and as they become more educated about how Scotch is made.
"While overall volumes are set to decline in Europe over the next five years, growth in the Americas and the Asia Pacific will more than makeup for this."
Overall volume growth in Scotch between 2018 and 2023 is forecast at 1.6% CAGR, the report said.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
