Irish drinks exports to US worth €619m in 2021

Irish drinks exports to the United States were valued at around €619 million last year, up around 10 per cent from 2020 as the industry began to recover from the pandemic.

New figures compiled by Drinks Ireland, the Ibec trade association that represents the drinks industry, show that exports of Irish spirits alone to the US market were valued at €561 million. This was driven mainly by sales of Irish whiskey, the group said in a statement, but Irish cream liqueur is also a popular product, while Irish gin has been “carving a niche for itself” on the other side of the Atlantic.

The US was also the second biggest export destination for Irish beer and cider behind the UK last year. Beer exports to the US were valued at €49 million in 2020, Drinks Ireland said, while cider exports were worth €8.4 million.

Over half of all Irish drinks exports went to the US last year, Bord Bia figures show.

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Sales, exports and production of alcohol fell across the board throughout the pandemic after a number of years of strong growth, mostly due to the collapse of airport and global travel retail.

Drinks Ireland’s annual beer market report, published in May, revealed that production of lager, stout and ale declined precipitously by 46 per cent between 2020 and 2021, while exports tumbled 3 per cent. Spirits exports, meanwhile, declined 16 per cent in 2020.

Vincent McGovern, director of spirits at Drinks Ireland, said: “Irish drinks producers take great pride in creating quality products that are renowned the world over, and the US is a key destination for our spirits, beer and cider exports, which is very positive to see.

“While heavily impacted by Covid-19, and particularly the global closure of the on-trade (pubs, restaurants, hotel bars), exports remained resilient, and producers are now focused on recovery and further growth.”