Now Indians are crazy about this whisky: Indians are increasingly consuming foreign liquor, as can be seen from the statistics. Scotch whiskey from Britain is most popular in India.
The consumption of Scotch whiskey in India has overtaken that of France. India is set to become the largest market for British Scotch whiskey due to a 60 per cent increase in imports of Scotch whiskey from the UK in 2022.
Import of about 22 crore bottles
India imported 219 million bottles of Scotch whiskey with a capacity of 700 ml last year. At the same time 205 million bottles were imported by France.
In the last decade, the Indian Scotch market has grown by 200 per cent. The Scotch Whiskey Association reports
that despite the increase in imports, Scotch whiskey has only a two per cent share of the Indian whiskey market. The Indian government imposes a 150 percent tax on the import of Scotch whisky.
free trade agreement important issue
It is important that India and UK sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Scotland’s whiskey companies can benefit greatly from this deal between the two countries.
Growth of one billion pounds is predicted over the next five years by the Scotch Whiskey Association. In Scotland alone, over 7,000 people are directly employed by the whiskey industry in rural areas.
The industry creates over 42,000 jobs across the UK. An increase in the number of imports is possible if India and the UK negotiate an FTA.
Import of whiskey increased
Last year, worldwide whiskey imports exceeded 6.2 billion pounds. There has been an increase of 37 percent this year as compared to last year. Its biggest export is to Britain.
In terms of Scotch exports to the United States, the UK is the largest exporter. It was estimated that $105.3 million worth of Scottish whiskey was exported to the US.
A total of £282 million worth of whiskey was shipped to India during this period.
According to Nigel Huddleston, UK imports such as Scotch whiskey are an example of success. It creates thousands of jobs and contributes billions to the economy. I am happy to see the export figures.
