Anger as Scotch whisky firm imports Swedish malt

The malt was unloaded at Dundee port on Wednesday (August 12), causing uproar among farmers who felt the company had shunned Scottish grain.

NFUS combinable crops committee chairman John Picken said: “We are angry and disappointed but not surprised at the decision of the major distiller, Diageo, to import malt from overseas but the timing of such an import gives a poor message to Scottish growers at a pivotal time for the Scottish cereal sector.  

“With tens of thousands of tonnes of malting quality grain from the 2008 harvest still in Scottish stores, and the 2009 harvest started amid huge uncertainty over prices, Scottish growers desperately need strong signals from grain buyers that their crops are needed and valued.”

He warned growers faced the prospect malting grain being sold at half the cost of production, and called on companies like Diageo – which manufacturers alcoholic drinks including Jonnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka and Guinness - to support home-grown produce.

He said: “If ever there was a year when we needed companies like Diageo to be encouraging Scottish growers then this is it.  

“Otherwise, the drinks industry may not have the crop in another year’s time as growers will have moved on to more profitable alternatives.

“There has been a lot of talk and effort put in to building up long term partnerships between farmers and distillers but imports like this at this time send out completely the wrong signals.  

“With so much quality Scottish grain still in store from last year’s harvest, Diageo could easily have purchased Scottish-produced malt and built in greater Scottish-ness to their products by using entirely home produced malt.”

The firm, which is the largest single producer of Scotch Whisky, said it was commited to Scottish growers and last year sourced 90 per cent of its barley from Scotland - a figure it expects to match this year.

However, it defended its decision to import the latest batch, saying it represented a ‘very small proportion’ of its overall requirement.

A Diageo spokesperson said: “For a number of reasons, including the weather and cereal varieties, it is necessary for us to import a very small proportion of malt. This is an essential part of our risk management to ensure our distilleries can always operate.

“The imported malt recently brought into Dundee was bought under a contract agreed sometime ago when malt availability was much tighter. This is consistent with the many other distillers who have also been importing.”

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