July 28/Norwalk, Conn./PRNewswire -- According to the Beverage Information Group's recently released 2009 Liquor Handbook, total distilled spirits consumption rose 2.1% in 2008 to 185.6 million 9-liter cases. This gain marks the eleventh consecutive year of advances for the industry.
A development cited in the 2009 Liquor Handbook is that imported spirits' growth was slower than that of their domestic counterparts for the first time since 2001. This is a direct result of not only consumers trading down, but of the dollar's weak value that has raised prices as well as tightened margins for imported brands. Total imported spirits rose 1.7% to 74.3 million cases compared with slightly faster growth for domestics (+2.5% to 111.3 million). This directly contrasts to the previous trend when the higher-priced imported sector typically outpaced the growth of the domestic segment.