UK whisky exports fall by 5.7% as gin grows
Exports of UK whisky saw a volume drop of 5.7% in the first nine months of 2025, but gin grew its value by double digits.
The UK’s Food & Drink Federation (FDF) revealed its latest Trade Snapshot Q3 report for the first nine months of this year, based on HMRC data.
Global exports of UK food and drinks were up by 5.8% to £18.9bn (US$25.2bn) in the first three quarters of 2025. The FDF said this was driven by non-EU exports, which grew by 6.2% in value year on year.
The nation’s largest food and drinks export, whisky, experienced a value dip of 0.4% to £4.1 billion (US$5.5bn) over the nine-month period.
On the other hand, gin, which was the ninth-biggest food and drink export from the UK, managed to grow.
Gin’s export volumes rose by 1.8% in the first nine months of 2025, while its value increased by 16.7% to £462m (US$616.7m).
Of the UK’s top 10 food and drinks exports, only whisky and breakfast cereals (the 10th-biggest product) saw their value drop slightly in the year to date.
Whisky, chocolate and beef were the only exports within the top 10 to see a volume decrease.
UK-made whisky saw its total export volumes fall by 3.1% in the first half of 2025. However, its value rose by 1% to £2.5bn (US$3.36bn).
EU performance
UK food and drinks exports to the European Union (EU) managed to grow by 5.5% in the first three quarters of 2025, reaching £10.9bn (US$14.5bn).
However, UK food and drinks exports to the EU are down by almost a quarter (23.4%) between 2021 and 2025 when compared to the period before Brexit (2016-2020), the FDF noted.
Whisky was the UK’s biggest food and drinks export to the EU, where £1.1bn (US$1.47bn) worth was sold in the year to date.
It was also the leading exported product for France (£323.7m/US$432.1m), Germany (£128.9m/US$172m) and Spain (£154m/US$205.6m). In Belgium, it was the third-biggest food and drink export after lamb and mutton, and cocoa, with £56.1m (US$75m) worth of whisky sold.
The FDF also revealed export figures for South Korea, which recently finalised an updated free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK.
Whisky was by far the leading UK food and drink export for South Korea. However, it declined by both volume (down 19.1%) and value (18.5%) to £76.8m (US$102.5m) in the year to date.
UK-made spirits, meanwhile, managed to increase volumes by 18.1%. Value rose by 19.7% to £8.2m (US$10.9m). The category was the fourth-biggest UK food and drink export, ahead of beer (£5.8m/US$7.7m) and soft drinks (£2.9m/US$3.9m).
Karen Betts, chief executive of the FDF, said: “We’ve seen exports to the rest of the world outpace the EU in the last year, and there’s much more government can do to work with exporters, particularly SMEs [small- and medium-sized enterprises], to ensure we maintain that momentum.
“We’re calling on government to work with us on a 10-year export growth plan, backed by £2.6m [US$3.5m] of government funds to help businesses expand to new markets.
“This will support the government’s ‘number one’ growth mission, as well as building the resilience and competitiveness of UK food and drink manufacturing.”
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