The value of Irish whiskey exports to the all-island economy exceeded one billion euros for the first time in 2022, the Irish Whiskey Association announced this week.

The assessment by the Irish Whiskey Association is based on CSO/Eurostat data from Ireland and member data from Northern Ireland. The Irish Whiskey Association regards export value as representing a more accurate picture of the contribution to the all-island economy than global retail value.

William Lavelle, Director of the Irish Whiskey Association, stated: “Breaking one billion in export value represents another important milestone in the Irish whiskey renaissance and confirms the importance of our unique all-island industry to our shared economy, north and south. Across the island of Ireland, the growth in Irish whiskey exports has created more quality jobs, brought more investment into regional and rural communities, and led to more purchasing from Irish farmers.”

The key drivers of Irish whiskey export growth identified in the Irish Whiskey Association’s ‘Irish Whiskey Global’ international trade report published in October 2022, include:

  • The growing global demand for premium, higher priced Irish whiskey – in line with consumers drinking less, but drinking better
  • Rapid market diversification, including across Africa and Asia
  • The rise of e-commerce as major sales channels post-Covid
  • Increased interest in Irish whiskey from the millennial and generation Z consumer segments.

Lavelle said that expanding free trade agreements with positive trading partners to support the continued growth of Irish whiskey exports, including finalising EU trade negotiations with Australia and EU and UK trade negotiations with India.

Ireland is home to over 40 distilleries distilling approximately 110 million LPA of whiskey spirit every year. There are over 3.5 million casks of Irish whiskey maturing across the island and global sales have exceeded 14 million cases.

However, Irish whiskey sales have been significantly impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine which had been the fastest growing market for Irish Whiskey in Europe. Additionally, exports to Russia, the second largest export market for Irish Whiskey in 2023, have ceased as companies stopped selling into the Russian market. Together these two markets accounted for 7 per cent of Irish Whiskey sales in 2021.

The full report is available here.

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