A new report into the value of the UK’s wine and spirit industry, commissioned by the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, has revealed that the trade contributed over £76 billion in economic activity in 2022.
This compares to £49 billion pounds in economic activity contributed by the wine and spirit industry five years ago, according to the last similar report commissioned by the WSTA.
The Economic Analysis Study, produced by Cebr for the WSTA, highlights the importance of the sector which showed that in total the wine and spirit industry generated over £22 billion Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2022.
The UK remains the world’s second largest importer of wines, bringing in the equivalent of 1.7 billion bottles in 2022. And keeps its global crown as the largest exporter of spirits, sending the equivalent of 1.8 billion bottles abroad in the same year.
Economists from leading economic consultancy, Cebr, revealed that the UK’s wine and spirit industry supports 413,000 jobs in 2022. This includes 219,000 people in the spirits sector and 193,000 jobs in wine.
Owen Good, Head of Economic Advisory at Cebr, said:
“These figures, highlighted by the industry supporting more than 400,000 FTE jobs in 2022, show the significant economic contribution that the wine and spirits industries make to the UK economy. This economic support is particularly driven by the notable contribution of on-trade retailers, while much of the economic activity supported across the value chain is underpinned by a strong (and growing) domestic production industry.”
Miles Beale, Chief Executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, said:
“This report comes as a timely reminder of the importance of the wine and spirit industry to the UK economy. In total £22.6 billion of GVA is added to the UK economy from the trade of which 46% comes from the on-trade.”
“We look forward to working with the next Government to ensure the right support to encourage more investment, innovation and to generate further growth. We hope that MPs, Ministers and officials will all want to work in close partnership with our industry over the lifetime of the next Parliament – recognising the significant value of wines and spirits to national economy, and working together to achieve economic growth, improved environmental outcomes and social responsibility.”
