India has surpassed France as the United Kingdom's largest market for Scotch whisky, with an increase of 60% in imports in 2022 compared to the previous year. According to the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), India imported 219 million 70cl bottles of Scotch, while France imported 205 million. This represents a growth of more than 200% in the Indian Scotch market in the past decade. Despite this growth, Scotch whisky still only makes up 2% of the Indian whisky market, due to high tariffs. The UK and India are currently in the seventh round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), with the Scotch whisky industry being a key focus for the UK.
The SWA has noted that if a UK-India FTA were to ease the 150% tariff burden on Scotch whisky in India, it could result in an additional GBP 1 billion of growth over the next five years. The Indian market for Scotch exports is currently worth GBP 282 million, making it the fifth-largest market, behind France, Singapore, and Taiwan.
In 2022, the Asia-Pacific region surpassed the European Union (EU) as the industry's largest regional market, with double-digit post-pandemic growth also seen in Taiwan, Singapore, and China, in addition to India.
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The total export value of Scotch whisky, which is one of the UK's largest exporters, was up 37% to GBP 6.2 billion. UK Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston stated that Scotch whisky is one of the UK's greatest exporting success stories, contributing billions of pounds to the economy and supporting thousands of jobs.
According to SWA data, the equivalent of 53 bottles of Scotch whisky are exported every second, up from 44 per second in 2021. Blended Scotch whisky accounts for 59% of value exports, while Single Malt accounts for 32% of all Scotch whisky exports by value.
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The whisky industry alone employs 11,000 people directly in Scotland, with over 7,000 of these people working in rural areas, and an additional 42,000 jobs across the UK. The Scottish government's Rural Affairs and Islands Cabinet Secretary, Mairi Gougeon, has stated that they will continue to engage with and listen to the whisky industry to understand how they can improve export opportunities and remove trade barriers.
The Scotch whisky industry is a key focus for the UK in their FTA negotiations with India, and a potential easing of the tariff burden on Scotch whisky in India could result in significant growth for the industry.
