Foreign taste for Scotch sees whisky exports boom

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"It's an impressive performance, underscoring the importance of Scotch whisky to the UK economy," said Paul Walsh chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association.

"The industry is continuing to invest and sustain its efforts to secure fair access to export markets.

"We look to the next UK government to work with us to build Scotch whisky's success in the future."

The value of whisky exports rose 3% to £3.13 billion, equivalent to £99 a second on the UK trade balance.

The top five export markets remained unchanged in ranking from last year, and were as follows:

France up 12% at 179 million bottles
USA up 12% at 120 million
Spain down 15% at 87 million
Singapore up 6% at 52 million
South Africa up 12% at 50 million.

By far the biggest growth came in Latin America with Venezuela seeing a 77% increase and Brazil a 56% rise.

However, UK sales of Scotch fell 11% last year to 92 million bottles.

Over the last 10 years, Scotch exports have risen by 45% or £977 million in terms of value, with the number of bottles shipped up by 13%.

But the industry is still smarting from the 5.1% rise in duty in the last Budget, and SWA chief executive Gavin Hewitt today called for a "long overdue review.