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Irish spirits exports drop 9.3% in 2023
By Nicola CarruthersThe value of Irish spirits exports fell by 9.3% last year due to weak consumer spending, a new report has revealed.

The Irish Spirits Market Report 2023 by Drinks Ireland revealed that Irish spirits exports were valued at €1.3 billion (US$1.42bn) in 2023.
The report attributed the decline to a ‘highly competitive global market and tough economic headwinds, which have complicated the market for drinks categories worldwide’.
Volume-wise, Irish spirits exports were flat (down 0.1%) last year, however Irish whiskey rose slightly by 2.6% to 15.6 million cases in 2023.
More than 25 million nine-litre cases of Irish spirits were sold in 2023 – equivalent to 10 bottles sold every second in 2023.
The US was the leading market for Irish spirits, followed by the UK, Germany, global travel retail (GTR) and Canada.
The report noted that GTR sales have rebounded well after Covid-19, although they have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. GTR sales in 2023 failed to reach 2022 levels due to several reasons, including the underperformance of the European duty free market, and the competitive pricing of spirits on the UK high street, the report said.
Irish whiskey exports fell by 14% in value last year, described as a ‘short-term decline’ by Drinks Ireland.
The US continues to be the leading export market for Irish whiskey by far, accounting for more than a third (36%) of total global sales volumes.
For the first time, Poland became the second-largest market for Irish whiskey in 2023, after a 16% growth rate. It was previously the fourth biggest in 2022 and sixth in 2021.
Germany soared by double digits in 2023, re-entering Irish whiskey’s top five biggest markets in the fifth spot after dropping out in 2022.
The UK moved down one place to take the fourth ranking in Irish whiskey’s global sales, after growing by nearly 7%. Ireland was the third-biggest market for the category.
Meanwhile, global export volumes of Irish cream fell by 4% and Poitín soared by 13.5% last year.
Drinks Ireland, with support from Bord Bia and Invest Northern Ireland, is launching a new marketing campaign to further develop the Poitín category.
Drinks Ireland also revealed that the value of US whiskey and Bourbon exports to Ireland skyrocketed by 55.8%.
Spirits in Ireland
Domestically, volume sales of Irish spirits dipped by 1.4% last year, but it was an increase of 8.4% compared with 2019.
Vodka remains the most popular spirit in Ireland (30% share of total spirits in 2023), despite a small decline of 1.2%. Sales of premium vodkas doubled in share in 2023 compared with 2019.
Irish whiskey was the second most-consumed spirit (26% share of spirits), increasing by 2% last year. Gin, which represents 13% of spirits sales, dropped by 6.1% and rum fell by 5.3%.
While it represents only 1% of all spirits sales in Ireland, Tequila witnessed the highest increase (up 12%) followed by Irish cream, which rose by 8.5%.
In terms of the ready-to-drink category, the ‘cocktails and long drinks’ segment fell by 6.4% and hard seltzers plummeted by 32.5%. Wine spritzers and coolers, on the other hand, rose by 26%.
Non-alcoholic ‘spirits’ grew by 9.5% last year, but since 2019 the segment has soared by 1,433% in Ireland.
‘Strong ambitions for future growth’
Aengus King, director of Drinks Ireland | Spirits, said: “The Irish spirits sector has delivered phenomenal export growth over recent years, and while confronted with challenging international markets at present, has strong ambitions for future growth that will deliver for regional economic development.
“Sustaining businesses during challenging periods so they continue to deliver to the wider economy in the future requires a supportive enterprise and regulatory environment.
“We depend on government and state agencies to work with us to ensure the best possible market access internationally, including the avoidance of tariff barriers; the protection of our important geographic indication (GI) status for Irish whiskey, Irish cream, and Poitín across global markets; and increased investment through state agencies and support for exporters for export promotion and development.”
After Finland and Sweden, Ireland pays the third-highest rate on alcohol tax in Europe, the report noted.
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