Whiskies led US distilled spirits import-export trade with the rest of the world in 2014, with bourbon dominating US whiskey exports, and Scotch & Irish whisky (spelled without the ‘e’) the top US import in this product category.
The US leads the world in imports of whiskies and is ranked second, (far) behind the UK as an exporter of whiskies.
We wrote last year about how whiskies – and bourbon, in particular – have been enjoying a renaissance in the US domestic market while gaining export market share. In 2014, bourbon exports held steady with a modest 1.6% growth in value, even as volume slipped 2.4%. Still, bourbon accounts for the largest share of US exports in this category by volume (28%) and value (52%).
The latest trend in brown spirits is the growing taste for rye, evidenced by a 40% increase by volume in US domestic sales last year, according to the US Distilled Spirits Council. There’s been no discernible impact on US trade yet, with no exports and less than a percentage point share of imports. But note, north of the US border the terms Canadian whisky and rye whisky are used interchangeably. So more calls for rye will likely boost US whisky imports from Canada, already the top source by volume, with 135,593,716 proof liters shipped south (61% of the total imported by the US) last year.
Get more data:
Datamyne’s free report on US exports and imports of distilled spirits in 2014 provides volumes in proof liters and FOB US$ values for each 10-digit HS code in this product category. Click here to download the pdf.
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