Irish whiskey sales growing despite global consumption slowdown

Worldwide sales of Irish whiskey continued to rise last year despite a slowdown in consumption of spirits across the globe.

New figures released by International Wine & Spirit Research show that global exports of Irish whiskey rose 10.1 per cent to 62 million litres in 2013, from 55.8 million a year earlier and 40.5 million in 2009.

Exports to the US, the biggest market for Irish whiskey, rose 17.9 per cent last year. Russia overtook France to become the third biggest market for Irish whiskey after the US and Ireland, with sales rising by 6 per cent last year. Sales in Russia have jumped by 21.3 per cent since 2008.

Sales in France fell by 0.3 per cent but were up by 0.7 per cent in the UK, the fifth biggest market for Irish whiskey brands.

According to International Wine & Spirit Research (IWSR), an industry analyst, consumption in Germany is set to outgrow that of the UK over the next six years.

Whiskey exports have risen by 220 per cent since 2003 and are now valued at €350 million. IWSR predicts growth of 8.4 per cent per annum until 2018, just below the 8.7 per cent level it recorded between 2007 and 2012.

The analyst said Jameson, the market leader with global sales of 4.4 million cases last year, continues to drive growth in many markets. However, it added that Tullamore Dew and Bushmills, which are the second and third-largest brands respectively, have also witnessed increased sales.

The rise in exports comes at a time when global spirits sales are experiencing something of a dramatic slowdown. Sales rose by just 0.1 per cent to 3.09 billion nine-litre cases last year, down from the 6.5 per cent compound annual growth rate seen between 2007 and 2011. IWSR attributed the decline to a drop in sales of local spirits in emerging markets such as China and India.

The latest figures show that whiskey was the fastest-growing spirits category, both globally and in each of the major regions in 2013. It added just under eight million cases to 361 million cases last year while Vodka grew by 2.3 million cases to 496.3 million.

In Europe, whiskey saw its first year of growth since 2007, on the back of strong sales in Poland and Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Whiskey is the second largest-growing spirits category in Europe and the fastest in Africa and the Middle East.

Buoyed by such strong exports, over 15 new distilleries are currently being developed across Ireland. The sector is set to invest over €1 billion in Ireland in the next 10 years as it expands to meet demand, according to the recently formed Irish Whiskey Association.