Irish whiskey exports to India up 57%
Exports of Irish whiskey rose by 3.6% in volume last year, with India surpassing the UK as the category’s fifth-biggest market.
According to the Drinks Ireland | Spirits 2024 Annual Report, the volume increase in Irish whiskey exports was slightly higher than the previous year (up by 2.6%).
Irish whiskeys exports saw a value rise of 13% last year, bolstered by supply chain cost increases and ongoing premiumisation in the category.
The biggest growth for the category came from India, which overtook the UK to become the fifth-largest export market, after soaring by 57.5%.
The US remained the largest export market for Irish whiskey, but sales declined by 3.5% last year.
Poland was the second-biggest market for Irish whiskey (down by 4.4%), followed by Germany, which rose by 12.6%.
Irish spirits exports saw a volume rise of 2.8% last year and a value increase of 11.8% due to price inflation across the supply chain.
Irish cream liqueurs returned to growth last year, rising by 5% in value to €380 million (US$445.6m). By volume, the category rose by 1.5% to more than 9.65m nine-litre cases.
Sales to the UK grew by 3.5%, as it remained the second-biggest export market for Irish cream liqueurs after North America. Irish cream liqueurs soared by 28.5% in global travel retail (GTR).
Irish spirit poitín saw its volumes grow by 8.1% last year.
The top five markets for Irish spirits last year were the US, the UK, Germany, GTR and Canada.
In the GTR channel, Irish spirits sales rebounded, up by 18.9% last year, with Irish whiskey growing by 11.5% versus 2023.
Domestic sales
In terms of alcohol sales in Ireland, spirits saw a volume drop of 2.2% in 2024. Only Irish cream, Irish whiskey and Tequila were in growth, rising by 12.3%, 0.8% and 22.8% respectively.
Scotch suffered the biggest drop of all spirits categories in Ireland, plummeting by 20.5%. The country’s biggest-selling spirit, vodka, dipped by 2.5%. Gin, Ireland’s third-biggest spirit, suffered a 9% decrease.
The ready-to-drink category rose by 14.8% in volume last year, with cocktails and long drinks up by 5.1%.
Aengus King, director of Drinks Ireland | Spirits, described 2024 as a “mixed year” for the industry with “exports up and domestic sales down”.
David Boyd-Armstrong, Drinks Ireland | Spirits chairperson, said: “Medium term, our projections remain towards growth, but the pace of the growth has eased, and trade developments since early 2025 have presented an incredibly challenging business environment.
“The imposition of a 15% tariff on exports to our biggest market, the United States, is compounded by the weak dollar and continued trade uncertainty. The return to a zero-for-zero tariff trading position with the US must remain a top priority for government and for EU negotiators.”
King called for more government support to “drive export market development and diversification”.
He continued: “Furthermore, with per-capita consumption now 34% lower in Ireland than 2001, as well as the headwinds being faced by industry, now is the time for a 10% excise reduction in budget 2026.”
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