Scotch whisky gains GI status in Mozambique

The Scotch whisky industry has hailed another “legal breakthrough” in Africa after securing geographical indication (GI) status in Mozambique.

Scotch whisky is now recognised as a product with GI status in Mozambique

The Mozambique government has agreed to recognise Scotch whisky as a product that must be made in Scotland from water, cereals and yeast and matured for at least years, in accordance with GI regulations.

Earlier this week, Scottish secretary David Mundell toured Mozambique and asked the minister of industry and commerce to grant Scotch whisky GI status, to prohibit the sale of fake Scotch whisky in the country.

According to trade body the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), Mozambique is a “relatively small” export market for Scotch whisky, however the value of direct shipments to the country in 2014 was £1.6m, up from £214,232 five years earlier. Volume reached 505,143 bottles, up from 59,714 bottles in 2009.

The SWA has ramped up its campaigning efforts for GI protection of Scotch whisky in Africa, as the continent becomes more urbanised and therefore more attractive as an export market. In particular, Mozambique experienced a 7% increase to its GDP in 2014.

“We expect to see demand for Scotch to increase in Mozambique as its economy continues to grow,” said David Frost, chief executive of the SWA. “We have the same positive outlook for many African countries with a growing middle class seeking out quality, imported products, such as Scotch.

“It’s important that consumers have confidence in the provenance of what they are buying, which this recognition of Scotch as a ‘geographical indication’ will help to achieve.”

In July last year, Botswana became the first country in Africa to recognise Scotch whisky as a product with geographical indication. Two months later, a further 17 African countries registered Scotch as having GI status.

This marked the first time that all member countries of Organisation Africaine de la Propriete Intellectuelle (OAPI), which has a population of more than 150 million people, had registered any spirit drinks as having GI status.

Scotch whisky’s GI is now officially recognised in the laws of nearly 100 countries, including the whole of the European Union.

Duty cut campaign continues

In the UK, the SWA is continuing to lobby the Treasury department ahead of the UK Budget Statement next month.

The association, which is calling for a 2% cut to spirits duty, has today (19 February) released data from its Economic Impact of Scotch Whisky Production in the UK report, showing that Scotch “is the biggest net contributor to UK trade in goods”, with exports worth almost £4 billion.

Imports in the supply chain, such as packaging for products and casks for maturing the spirit, total only £200 million, meaning the Scotch trade’s balance is £3.8bn.

“Without the success of Scotch, the UK’s trade deficit of almost £35bn would be 11% larger,” according to the SWA, which launched its ‘Fair Tax for Whisky: Stand up for Scotch’ campaign last month.

Frost added: “These figures re-emphasise how significant the Scotch whisky industry is to the Scottish and wider UK economy, adding more than £5bn of value and supporting around 40,000 jobs.

“But it may surprise some people that Scotch Whisky is now the number one contributor to the UK’s balance of trade in goods and that the trade deficit would be 11% higher without whisky exports.

“Given the scale and impact of the Scotch Whisky industry, we believe the government should re-double its efforts to support distillers. At home, in the short term, a further 2% duty cut in next month’s Budget would be a major boost, supporting small businesses that rely on the home market and further investment in the sector.”

Last year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, cut spirits duty by 2%, which the SWA claims contributed an additional £96m in revenue to the Treasury between April and December 2015.