The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) has released figures for 2025, showing that global exports of Scotch whisky fell by 0.6% in value and 4.3% in volume as the industry navigated significant challenges across multiple markets.

Exports were valued at £5.36bn in 2025, with the equivalent of 1.3 billion bottles shipped worldwide — around 43 every second. Exports, which totalled £5.4bn in 2024, have declined in both volume and value as international tariffs, rising costs of doing business in the UK and softening consumer demand have impacted producers and the wider supply chain.

The industry’s most valuable export market, the United States, saw export volumes fall by 15% following the introduction of a 10% tariff in April 2025. The trade body has called on the UK Government to finalise an agreement with the United States to restore zero-tariff trade, an issue that has been raised directly with President Trump by both Prime Minister Starmer and First Minister Swinney.

For the full year 2025, exports to the US fell by 4% in value to £933m. Volumes declined more sharply, down 9.2% year on year to the equivalent of 120 million bottles. The immediate impact of the 10% tariff is evident, with export values dropping by 7% and volumes falling by 15% between May and December 2025. Concerns remain that a UK–US deal to remove Scotch whisky from tariff measures has yet to be secured, almost a year after the tariff was first imposed.

Tariff pressures have come into even sharper focus amid the potential increase to 35% in July this year. The sector is also approaching the end of a five-year suspension of the 25% single malt tariff, which cost producers more than £600m in lost exports between 2019 and 2021 as a result of the Boeing–Airbus dispute.

Commenting on the figures, Mark Kent, Chief Executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: “The international trading environment continues to be challenging for Scotch whisky producers, with tariffs and geopolitical tensions causing significant turbulence in key markets. At home, the industry faces soaring costs, from year-on-year duty increases to new packaging taxes. Our member companies tell us they are under strain not felt for decades, and that support is vital to weather the storm.”

He added: “While global volatility has become the norm, it has now been compounded by an increasingly uncompetitive domestic tax and regulatory environment. The spirits duty increase earlier this month, amounting to more than 17% over three years, has clearly impacted jobs, investment potential and economic growth.”

Alongside pressures in the United States, the SWA has warned that the potential gains from recent agreements to reduce tariffs in India and China will not be realised while the domestic tax and regulatory burden continues to rise to unsustainable levels. With some distilleries halting or reducing production and jobs being lost across the industry and wider supply chain, the sector has warned that more businesses could close permanently in 2026 unless clear support measures are forthcoming from both Westminster and Holyrood.