What is the proportion of home sales to exports?

To help earn badly needed foreign currency after the war, the industry organised a voluntary scheme for restricting releases of Scotch Whisky to the home market. This lasted until 1954, but not until 1960-61 did releases reach their pre-war level. Since that time regular and severe increases in Excise Duty have artificially restricted releases from bond which would reasonably have been expected to rise steadily with increasing prosperity.

Scotch Whisky is one of Britain's principal export products, earning large amounts of foreign currency each year. Exporting is nothing new to the industry and even before the war, Scotch Whisky sales abroad accounted for over 50 per cent of the total. Today exports represent around 85 per cent of all Scotch Whisky sales.

© SWA 1995