India consolidates position as number one whisky market
sales come from locally made drinks, according to a new report from
Canadean.
When you think of major whisky markets, India is unlikely to spring to mind, but the sub-continent was the largest global market for whisky, in all its variants, last year, according to a new report from Canadean.
The report said that whisky, or whiskey, consumption in India reached around 52 million cases in 2002, some 20 per cent higher than that of the US, the second-largest market. Furthermore, Canadean predicts that India will again strengthen its position in 2003, with consumption likely to rise to 55 million cases. This market is fuelled almost entirely by Indian whisky which accounts for over 99 per cent of total consumption. In the same period, consumption is likely to fall in the US and Thailand, the second and third largest markets respectively.
But India is not the only country showing good growth in whisky sales. The market - led by premium blends - in South Korea has mirrored the country's recent economic fortunes. The strong recovery since the Asian financial crisis has coincided with whisky consumption more than doubling in the last four years, Canadean said, and South Korea is now the fourth fastest growing national market. More significantly, of the 10 markets increasing most rapidly, South Korea is second only to India in volume.
Elsewhere, whisk(e)y consumption in many South American countries continues to recede with Bolivia, Venezuela, Paraguay and Argentina among the five markets showing the largest downturns. Despite its size, the US market also showed a downturn in 2002, with Bourbon and other American whiskeys, Canadian whisky and blended Scotch all showing steep declines.
Canadean's report also analyses sales by whisky category, and shows that blended Scotch whisky is by far the most popular. The biggest consumers of blended Scotch are the Spanish, who drank 9.8 million cases in 2002, but France is expected to overtake the US as the number two country this year. Scotch's 'home' market, the UK, is the fourth largest in the world for the blended drink.
Although the US remains an important market for blended Scotch, Americans consumed twice as much Bourbon and American whiskey, with consumption dominated by two brands: Jack Daniel's Old No 7 and Jim Beam. However, the fastest growing overall brand with significant consumption volume in the US is in fact Diageo's Crown Royal, a Canadian whisky, the report said.
Consumption in Thailand, the third largest whisk(e)y market in the world, remains high - around 29 million cases in 2002, more than double its nearest rival - but global brands have still to make much of an impact there. The five best selling products there are so-called secondary whiskies - products such as Mehkong and Black Cat. Diageo's Johnnie Walker does have some presence in Thailand, however, although its sales are still dwarfed by the local products.
For further details of Canadean's 2002 Whisk(e)y International Product Watch Report, contact Andy Bryce.
