Scotch exports fell in the first half of 2024

Exports of Scotch whisky in the first half of 2024 have fallen by 18 percent compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Scotch Whisky Association’s (SWA)’s new released figures. 

Data for H1 2024 shows that the value of Scotch whisky exports declined when compared with the first half of 2023.  Export value in H1 2024 was £2.1bn, down 18 percent as compared to the corresponding period in 2023. In the same period, the volume of Scotch exports fell by 10.2 percent, to the equivalent of 566m 70cl bottles – or 36 bottles of Scotch whisky exported each second, compared to 40 bottles per second in the first half of 2023. 

By value, the United States remained the largest global market for Scotch whisky during the first half of 2024. The industry continues to feel the impact of the 25 percent tariff on single malt Scotch whisky, levied between October 2019 and March 2021, which did cost the industry £600m in lost exports and market share. 

By volume, India is the largest market for Scotch whisky, with growth of 17.3 percent in the first half of 2024 as compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.

 The SWA has called on the new UK government to redouble efforts to conclude the UK-India Free Trade Agreement. The phased reduction of the tariff would benefit industries in both the UK and India and could see the value of Scotch whisky exports grow by £1bn over five years.