UK whisky exports bounce back in 2021

According to data from the Food and Drink Federation, whisky exports from Great Britain returned to growth in the first nine months of 2021. Whisky remains the UK's largest food and drink export category, however, Q3 2021's results are still lower than in the corresponding period in 2019, before the pandemic began.

UK exports of food and beverages

British exports of food and beverages are lower by almost 16% in the first three quarters of this year compared to 2019. According to the FDF, the decline is mainly due to trade disruptions with the European Union countries caused by Brexit and Covid-19. Exports in the first 9 months to EU countries have fallen by 23.7% to GBP 2.4 billion since 2019, the main markets - Germany (decrease by 44.5%) and Spain (decrease by 50.6%) .

The situation is different for non-EU countries - exports in 9 months were 11% higher than last year, driven by increased exports to China, Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

Whisky category results

The results of the whisky category are much more optimistic - exports show signs of recovery compared to 2020, with a 21% increase to GBP 3.3 billion in the third quarter of 2021. However, the results from 2019 are still far behind the results, when exports in the same period reached 3,7 billion GPB.

In Gulf Cooperation Council, a union of six Gulf countries, whisky sales increased by 39.3% to £ 60.1 million over the past year. In the United Arab Emirates, whisky increased by 47.3% to £ 55.5 million in 2021 compared to 2020, but exports are still 19.5% lower than in 2019.

Whisky exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, the economic union of 10 Southeast Asian member states, increased by 13.2% compared to 2020 to £ 217.6 million, but is still 21.8 lower % compared to 2019 level

Source: www.thespiritsbusiness.com