Brexit Is Costing The Scotch Whisky Industry £5 Million A Week
Updated: Jan 4
Scotland’s ruling party, the Scottish National Party (SNP), have recently claimed that trade complications created by Brexit are costing the Scotch whisky industry £5 million ($6.9 million) a week.
The SNP used sales figures comparing sales from January-May 2021 to the same period in 2019, revealing that export levels were lower by £105.7 million ($146.5 million). Lending strength to the argument is that EU sales figures following the end of the Brexit transition Tokyo escorts period, from January to March 2021, dropped £135.9 million ($188.5 million) compared to the same period in 2019.
The UK government, led by the pro-Brexit Conservative party, have called the claims misleading, saying that it is hard to draw conclusions in the wake of the effects of the Covid pandemic and rising export levels compared to 2020. Walking the tightrope between these two views is the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), which represents the interests of the Celebrity Tokyo escorts industry across trade and policy. In an official statement, it pointed out the rising levels of exports since a 2020 nadir, while also making clear that doing business in the EU has become more complicated thanks to the changes in trade that Brexit has created:
“The way Scotch Whisky is exported to the European Union has changed since Brexit, and producers have had to adapt to changes to customs systems, labelling and paperwork, as well as the withdrawal of some transport services.