Sales of whisky in Korea fell sharply in the third quarter of the year due to a protracted economic recession and a change in the local drinking culture, industry data showed Monday.
According to data from the liquor industry, sales of whisky in the local alcohol market dropped 13.4 percent from a year ago to 517,912 cartons in the July-September period. Each carton contains 18 bottles of 0.5-liter.
The decrease in whisky sales in the period worsened in the third quarter from an on-year decline of 10.1 percent in sales in the first half of last year.
Market watchers said consumers prefer lighter and cheaper alcoholic beverages such as soju and makgeolli, traditional Korean drinks, to the stronger and more expensive whisky due to a prolonged economic downturn.
In addition, a growing number of consumers who are moderating their drinking habits contributed to the drop in whisky sales, they added.
Diageo Korea, the local arm of Britain's Diageo Plc., the world's leading liquor company, saw sales of its anchor product "Windsor" fall 14.7 percent in the third quarter of the year. The sales drop appears to be because of an abrupt price hike in August, market watchers said.
Sales of Pernod Ricard Korea's "Imperial" whisky brand, and "ScotchBlue," a brand from South Korea's Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., fell 11.1 percent and 11.4 percent respectively in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, In the January-July period, sales of whisky in the local market were down 38.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the industry data. During that period, sales of soju, the country's traditional distilled beverage, reached 633,000 kiloliters in the first half, up 2.45 percent on-year. (Yonhap)