Irish Gin Exports Up 433% in First Quarter of 2018
New CSO figures reveal that the value of Irish gin exports grew by a whopping 433 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the first quarter of 2017. In the first quarter of 2018, exports of Irish gin were valued at €935,000, compared to just €175,000 in the first quarter of 2017. The new figures show that half of this value came from exports to the US and a further quarter came from exports to the UK. There were also shipments of Irish Gin to both Japan and Mexico in the first quarter of 2018, which are both increasingly important new markets for Irish spirits.
William Lavelle, Head of the Irish Spirits Association, says: “The gin revolution, which has grown in Ireland and the UK over the past 18 months, is now going global. There is huge potential for Irish gin producers to expand even further, as the industry shifts its focus to international markets. The rapid surge in Irish gin exports in the first quarter of 2018 marks only the start of what we believe will be sustained export growth.”
The Irish Spirits Association recently published the first-ever Strategy for Irish Gin, which include a target of trebling Irish gin sales globally by 2022.
