Senior UK Government figures have visited Russia to encourage the expansion of Scotch whisky into the country and demanded a tough clampdown on black market bottles.
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson followed up a trip to China by heading to Eastern Europe last month to discuss the export industry, which generated £4.3 billion for the UK last year.
One obstacle with the massive market is counterfeit products and the Scotch Whisky Association has revealed they have 70 legal actions ongoing over false marketing at any one time.
A number of countries, including China, India and the whole of the EU, have granted Scotch whisky a geographical indication of origin, which means it is illegal to sell products under the banner unless it is produced in Scotland.
Mr Paterson told The Courier he had raised the issue with top figures in Russia and gave the country’s deputy prime minister a bottle to try for himself.
“If you flag it up at quite a senior level, it goes into the system,” said Mr Paterson. “It helps to jump on this quickly now before it becomes a problem.”
Last year, the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Industry and Commerce in China seized £3.2 million-worth of counterfeit alcohol, with 31 counterfeit manufacturing sites raided and 28 infringers arrested.
Mr Paterson, who has visited a number of distilleries in Scotland over the past few months and is expected to be coming north again later this week, said overseas trips to promote UK goods adds massive value on to the market.
He said: “There is a huge increase in whisky sales in Russia. It seems to be a really prestigious product.
“The Scotch Whisky Association has fantastic ambitions to grow and we want to help them. The geographical indication of origin is very important in doing that.
“My plan is to increase British food and drink exports and Scotch whisky is a really key product. It sets the standard for the UK being reliable, with top quality produce and it tastes good.”
It is not just whisky that is being focused on, though. Mr Paterson said a strong voice from the UK Cabinet was helping push food produce to a worldwide audience.
He added: “I had a very, very good trip to Russia. We have opened up a market for UK beef and lamb we reckon is worth £100 million over three years, which is a huge boost for Scotland.
“When I went to Moscow I helped open the largest food fare in the city and it was good to see Scottish fish already selling in really serious volumes to Russia.”
Campbell Evans, of the Scotch Whisky Association, said: “One of the most important things for the Scotch Whisky Association is to protect Scotch whisky around the world.
“We have five lawyers and 70 actions taking place at any one time. One of the ways we can protect our product is for other countries to give it geographical indication protection.
“If the UK Government is able to go and reinforce that, it is very helpful in terms of protecting both the industry and consumers.”