India has overtaken France to change into the UK’s largest market of Scotch whisky when it comes to quantity with a 60 per cent hike in imports in 2022 over the earlier 12 months, in line with the newest figures launched by Scotland’s main trade physique.
The Scotch Whisky Affiliation (SWA) revealed on Friday that India imported 219 million 70cl bottles of Scotch in comparison with France’s 205 million final 12 months – representing development of the Indian Scotch market of greater than 200 per cent previously decade.
As one of many key sectors of focus for the UK within the free commerce settlement (FTA) talks with India, now of their seventh spherical of negotiations, SWA identified that the hike in quantity nonetheless makes up solely a fraction of the Indian whisky market resulting from excessive tariffs.
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“Regardless of double-digit development, Scotch whisky nonetheless solely includes 2 per cent of the Indian whisky market,” the affiliation mentioned.
“SWA evaluation reveals {that a} UK-India FTA deal which eases the 150 per cent tariff burden on Scotch whisky in India may increase market entry for Scotland’s whisky corporations, permitting for an extra GBP 1 billion of development over the following 5 years,” it famous.
The worth of the Indian marketplace for Scotch exports is available in at fifth price GBP 282 million, up 93 per cent in 2021 and behind France, Singapore and Taiwan. The 2022 pattern additionally noticed the Asia-Pacific area overtake the European Union (EU) because the trade’s largest regional market, with double-digit post-pandemic development additionally seen in Taiwan, Singapore and China apart from India.
“Throughout a 12 months of serious financial headwinds and world provide chain disruption, the Scotch Whisky trade continued to be an anchor of development, supporting funding and job creation throughout Scotland and the UK,” mentioned SWA Chief Govt Mark Kent.
“By lowering tariffs via the UK-India free commerce settlement, persevering with the obligation freeze within the March finances, and making certain the trade’s continued potential to promote our world-class product in our dwelling market, the Scottish and UK governments can rely on the Scotch Whisky trade to reinvest its success throughout the UK,” he mentioned.
General, the 12 months 2022 noticed stable development in Scotch exports world wide, with the US holding on to its topmost place as the biggest market by worth at GBP 1,053 million. The overall export worth of Scotch whisky – one of many UK’s largest exporters – was up 37 per cent by worth to GBP 6.2 billion.
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UK Commerce Minister Nigel Huddleston mentioned: “Scotch whisky is without doubt one of the UK’s nice exporting success tales, contributing billions of kilos to the economic system and supporting hundreds of jobs, so I’m happy to see these export figures displaying a rising world demand.
“It’s important we proceed to help the trade because it expands into new markets due to our new commerce agreements world wide reminiscent of CPTPP [Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership] and in India. As we set our sights on GBP 1 trillion exports by 2030, I’m assured we will see Scotch whisky go from energy to energy within the years forward.”
In response to SWA knowledge, on common the equal of 53 bottles of Scotch Whisky are exported each second – up from 44 per second in 2021. Bottled Blended Scotch Whisky accounts for 59 per cent of worth exports, with Single Malt 32 per cent of all Scotch whisky exports by worth.
“The whisky trade alone employs 11,000 folks immediately in Scotland, over 7,000 of whom work in rural areas and an additional 42,000 jobs throughout the UK. We’ll proceed to have interaction with and take heed to the whisky trade to know how we will enhance export alternatives and take away boundaries to commerce,” added Mairi Gougeon, Scottish authorities’s Rural Affairs and Islands Cupboard Secretary.