Ireland: Irish whiskey won't have 'full clarity' on market until 2026 – IFA

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has warned that Irish whiskey producers and grain farmers will not have “full clarity” about the market until 2026, The Farmers Journal reported on July 31.

The warning comes after an IFA delegation, led by grain vice-chair John Murphy, held a discussion with representatives from Drinks Ireland and the Irish Whiskey Association (IWA).

At the meeting, the market outlook for the whiskey sector was outlined, which the IFA described as remaining exceptionally challenging due a combination of economic uncertainty arising from US tariffs and inflation/cost of living pressures.

Murphy said a boom in whiskey sales to the US so far had resulted in a significant increase in demand for malting and adjunct barleys at farm level. However, this was in jeopardy.

“It could be well into 2026 before full clarity exists within the market and this news will be concerning for barley producers,” he said.

The IWA said work is ongoing to ensure an increase of sales of Irish whiskey in other emerging markets such as India and South Africa, but barriers to trade are also present in these regions and pivoting sales would not happen overnight.

In addition, the IFA stressed the importance of the Irish whiskey sector using 100% Irish malting barley after the IFA malting barley committee became aware that some distillers had started to use imported European malt in recent times.

“Both the tillage sector and the whiskey sector are facing a significant threat to their viability at present and it is critically important producers and end users work together to support each other,” added Murphy.

“Premium crops are crucial to the economic livelihoods of a significant number of tillage farmers.”