Led by the growing popularity of single-malt whisky, Taiwanese bought £70.3 million (US$111 million) worth of Scotch whisky in the first six months of the year, up 45.25 percent from a year earlier, to become the world’s fifth-largest consumer of the spirit, according to statistics released by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) on Monday.
Taiwan is among the top-five Scotch whisky consuming countries for the first time, the Edinburgh-based association said in a statement published on its Web site.
The country was ranked the eighth-largest market in the world last year, when it consumed £107.4 million worth of Scotch, up 26.2 percent from the £85.1 million it spent in 2009, when it was ranked No. 10, the association’s statistics showed.
The latest SWA statistics indicated that emerging markets in Asia and South America have become increasingly important for the consumption of Scotch.
Singapore purchased £148.5 million worth of the spirit in the first half, surging 64.63 percent from a year earlier to become the third-most valuable market.
Brazil consumed 56.1 percent more of the spirit during the same period, worth £44.8 million, to claim the title as the world’s ninth-largest market, the SWA statistics showed.
“While traditional export markets remain important, we are making excellent headway in other regions,” Scotch Whisky Association chief executive Gavin Hewitt said in the statement on Monday.
The US remained the largest market for Scotch in dollar terms, reaching £267.6 million in the first half and up 14.51 percent year-on-year, while France was the runner-up as the country saw consumption rise 13.09 percent to £219.5 million.
They were followed by Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, South Korea, South Africa, Germany, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, in that order, the statistics showed.
Overall, global Scotch whisky exports rose 21.75 percent in value to £1.8 billion in the first half from the previous year, which the association said has defied global economic uncertainty.
Shipments to Central and South America reached £214.4 million in the first six months, up 49 percent year-on-year, while those to Asia increased 33 percent to £422.5 million, it added.
In terms of volume of shipments, around 569 million bottles of Scotch were sold in the first six months, up 19.53 percent year-on-year and translating into a 5 percent increase on an annualized basis, the association said.
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