Scotch whisky exports continued to decline in the first six months of this year, as the economic downturn in Brazil and high import taxes in India curbed demand for the spirit.
Export volume fell about 3 percent to 517 million bottles from the same period last year, the Edinburgh-based Scotch Whisky Association said in a statement. That matches the pace of contraction for all of 2014. The value of Scotch exports also dropped about 3 percent, the industry body said.
Export shipments of Scotch to Brazil, where the real has weakened 29 percent against the pound this year, declined 24 percent. Exports to India fell 11 percent, the association said.
In the U.S.A, the largest import market for Scotch, drinkers have gravitated towards other brown spirits like bourbon, as well as craft beer.
Exports to France and the U.S. both increased less than 1 percent.