The popularity of Scotch whisky is beginning to taper off among Americans while being warmly received in other parts of the globe.
After ten years of growth, sales fell last year by 7%. This comes, however, after some ten years of strong global growth, when the total value of exports went up 74% since 2004, according to the Scotch Whisky Association.
The tipple remains one of the largest industries in the British food and drink sector.
But sales in the US, the export’s biggest market, slid down 9% last year. The drop in exports was mostly due to retailers selling existing stock rather than buying new bottles, the SWA said.
Elsewhere people are increasingly willing to imbibe. Sales were strong in Taiwan and India, with increases of 36% and 29% respectively.
The French aren’t shy either. Sales in the second largest Scotch export market were up by 2%, but the market may drop as a result of the 2012 new tax on imported drinks.
Sales in some emerging markets were down because of political volatility after a decade of strong growth.
Unlike the wider Scotch market, single malt continues to attract drinkers abroad, with sales growth of 159% over the past decade, and up 6% last year.
The whisky sector directly employs 10,900 people in distilleries and manufacturing, and supports around 30,000 other jobs through its supply chain.
