Brussels, 02/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - The data published by the spiritsEUROPE association on Wednesday 25 June highlight the leading role of the European spirits sector in the EU trade. European exports of spirits have doubled in ten years - standing at €10 billion in 2013 and bringing a trade surplus of €8.6 billion the same year.
Just in terms of VAT and excise duty, the spirits sector generated about €21 billion for EU treasuries in 2013. The sector's success in exports also generates investment and jobs in Europe - thus €2.5 billion will be committed by Scotch whisky producers over the next two years. At least 20 new distilleries are currently under construction and there is much related investment being made in new bottling plants - with a knock-on benefit for other sectors such as glass manufacturers, coopers, transporters and packagers, says spiritsEUROPE in a press release.
“High value, local and iconic European spirits are sold around the world, making them the EU's most valuable agricultural exports. (…) Local spirits are flying the European flag abroad but we can achieve so much more”, spiritsEUROPE adds. The association is pressing the European Commission and European Parliament to support the continuing success of the spirits sector by promoting a proactive trade agenda over the coming five years.
spiritsEUROPE aims to eliminate high import tariffs and other barriers such as discriminatory tax policy, insufficient intellectual property protection or complex customs procedures. These issues “need to be addressed by the EU through the conclusion of ambitious free trade agreements (FTAs) with our main trading partners, a reinforced market access strategy, and credible enforcement mechanisms”, the association states. India, for example, is the largest whisky market in the world and yet less than 1% of consumption is of imported products. The abolition of the 150% import tariff would allow a boom in European spirits exports within a few years, spiritsEUROPE concludes. (EH)