Wednesday 28 January 2015 3:19 am

Seven things you didn’t know about the UK’s Whisky industry

"By diligent effort, I learnt to like it," is what former prime minister and Scotch whisky drinker Winston Churchill said on the so-called "liquid sunshine." The gentleman's drink – which once counted the Scot who invented penicillin Alexander Fleming as fan – is increasingly making a very likeable contriubtion to the UK economy. It added £5bn last year surging 28 per cent since 2008 and in Scotland its workers earn more than those in business and finance. Here's XX other things you didn't know about the Scotsh whiskey industry,

Benefits to the economy

Scotch whisky adds an impressive £3.3 billion directly and its total economic impact was nearly £5bn in 2013, representing a 27 per cent surge since 2008. Additionally, for every £1m of value added in the industry, an extra £520,000 is create in the broader economy.

It's a big industry

The Scotch whisky industry is actually the UK's largest single food and drink sector accounting for 25 per cent of the UK's food and drink exports. It adds more value than iron/steel, textiles, shipbuilding, or computer industries. For size and scope, it's about half the size of the pharmaceuticals or aerospace industries and a third of the size of the country's entire car industry.

In 2013 Scotch Whisky exports were 25% of the UK’s £19.4bn total food and drink exports. In 2012,

Scotch Whisky exports were almost 80% of Scotland’s £5.4bn food and drink exports.

Whisky workers

The Scotch whiskys supports around 40,300 jobs directly and indirectly across the country. What's more, every job in the Scotch whisky industry supports an additional 2.7 jobs in the broader economy.

Productivity puzzle? Solved!

Scotch whisky workers are actually the second most productive in Scotland ( just behind energy). This means more is produced per worker than aerospace, life sciences and digital industries.

Opt for distilleries over the office

Anyone who wants to earn big should set their sights on the Scotch whisky industry which offers salaries that are the third best in Scotland. This means Scotch whisky workers are actually better paid than employees in financial and business services.

Last year employee salaries totalled £520m, surging 12 per cent in just five years, and putting the average salary at over £47,000 per person.

Supply chain

The Scotch Whisky industry's supply chain is both broad and vast – spanning distillery purchases of cereals or transport services – to bottling plants and high street shops.

Every £1 paid to the Scotch Whisky industry's supply chain sustains a further £0.54 in salaries

to workers in that supply chain. In all, Scotch Whisky producers spend a sizeable £1.4bn a year on their Scottish suppliers.

Rural communities

The Scotch whisky industry sustains around 7,400 jobs, around £900 million of GVA and around £250 million of income in Scotland’s rural communities.

Exports

The industry exports over £4bn annually or 1.4% of the UK’s total goods exports in 2013, However, it the UK's second strongest contributor to national trade performance, because most of the industry's imports are derived from the UK. Without it, Chancellor George Osborne would have an even bigger headache, as the 2013 trade deficit would have been 16% larger without the Scotch Whisky industry.