UK: Scotch exports top 1 billion bottle mark
The Scotch whisky industry topped 1 billion bottles of export sales in 2001 for the first time ever, according to figures released today by the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), as sales overseas swelled 2.4% or 23.4m bottles. The previous record year was 1997, when bottles sent abroad came close to the 1 billion mark, but fell short by 11m bottles.