SWA pairs up for export drive

The Scotch Whisky Association has announced a new partnership with Scotland Food & Drink in a drive to push exports to over £7 billion by 2017.

The deal with Scotland Food & Drink aims to bolster the booming sector, which had £5.1 billion worth of export sales in 2014.

Scotch whisky makes up around 80% of all Scottish food and drink exports, and alone is worth £4 billion in exports.

If the SWA’s new target is met, the sector would rival oil and gas as Scotland’s most valuable export.

“We want to help Scottish food and drink sectors learn from the success of Scotch,” said David Frost, Scotch Whisky Association chief executive.

“This new collaboration shows our commitment to working with food and drink exporters to deliver growth for Scotland.”

Scotland’s food and drink sector reached £5 billion in exports in 2012, six years earlier than predicted.

The new deal will aim to use Scottish whisky’s success as a launchpad for other Scottish products.

Experts from the SWA will share their advice on marketing and international trade, and when the SWA runs an event in a foreign nation they will showcase other Scottish products.

James Withers, Scotland Food & Drink chief executive, said: “When we launched our new food and drink export strategy, we explicitly prioritised working more collaboratively with partners and learning from Scotch Whisky’s success.”