US whisky sales 'will be badly hit by decision to release Megrahi'

Published on Tuesday 1 September 2009 21:13

THE Scottish Government's decision to release the Lockerbie bomber will harm sales in Scotland's biggest export market, the chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association has warned.

Gavin Hewitt said yesterday that the decision to free Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi will have a detrimental effect on sales in the United States.

Scenes of Megrahi arriving home to a hero's welcome in Libya have sparked calls in America to boycott Scotland and Scottish goods.

Speaking at a conference organised by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry on Scotland's "international future", Hewitt told MSPs that their decisions often have unintended but damaging consequences for Scottish businesses which rely on overseas sales.

"Megrahi's release, for whatever justification, will have consequences for the American market and we need to think very carefully about the unintended consequences," he said.

"We can't live in a goldfish bowl."

According to figures from the Scottish Government, America is Scotland's leading export destination, accounting for 2.765 billion worth of sales a year.

On the day when Alex Salmond's administration introduced new licensing laws, Hewitt also sounded the alarm over how the crackdown on alcohol in this country could be used abroad to block imports of Scotch. He said policies such as the proposed minimum pricing for alcohol could be used as an excuse in markets which are already trying to use health arguments to give domestic brands a competitive advantage.

There have been attempts in some Asian markets to restrict imports of Scotch on the basis of its alcohol content.

"In relation to minimum pricing we need to understand what message we are sending out about Scotch whisky," said Hewitt. Scottish business leaders gathered at Murrayfield yesterday to discuss how Scotland can double its export market to 40bn a year.