This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Burns and whisky gang thegither
25/01/2005
Two of Scotland's greatest assets - Robert Burns and
Scotch Whisky - are at the heart of a Chinese charm
offensive being led today in Beijing by Deputy First
Minister Jim Wallace.
Figures released today by the Scotch Whisky Association
(SWA) show that sales of whisky continued to soar in China
in the second half of 2004 and this coincides with
Mr Wallace publishing a book of Burns poetry specially
translated into Chinese to mark a Burns Night celebration
in Beijing.
The Executive is stepping up its promotion of Scotland
activity in China following last week's agreement that
Chinese people will now be able to travel to Scotland as
tourists following the removal of travel restrictions.
Mr Wallace was very upbeat about Scotland's prospects
for exploiting this new opportunity.
He pointed out that since tariff liberalisation whisky
sales have boomed in China and that "the removal of tourism
barriers opens the way for a similar success story for
Scotland."
Mr Wallace said:
"Two of our greatest assets are already hugely popular
with the Chinese. China is a land of opportunity for
Scotland.
"The SWA figures show that in the first ten months of
2004 the volume of Scotch exports to China rose by 137 per
cent. This amounts to a 122 per cent increase in the value
of shipments of whisky to China in the period January to
October 2004 and is the equivilant of an extra 3.7 million
bottles of whisky being shipped to China compared to the
same period in 2003.
"Sales of whisky continue to grow at a fantastic rate.
China is a top priority market for the Scotch Whisky
industry and there has been a rapid growth in sales since
tariff liberalisation began in 2000 once China joined the
WTO.
"Indeed, with the rate of import reduced to its final
"binding" of 10 per cent on January 1st, 2005, the way
should be clear for further market penetration in
China.
"Also, Burns is far from an unknown quantity in China.
Songs such as Auld Lang Syne are very well known and
feature prominently at celebrations such as the Chinese New
Year (February 9th in 2005), weddings and graduations.
"I know the book of translated poetry will be well
received by our guests in Beijing. I hope that the evening
of celebration to mark the Bard's national day will give
the Chinese a true flavour of what Burns means to
Scots.
"Whisky and Burns are just two of the great assets
Scotland has to offer the Chinese.
"We will be using them and a whole lot of other things
such as our vibrant cities, our stunning countryside and
our world famous golf courses as we look to exploit the
huge opportunity provided by last week's agreement that
Chinese tourists can now travel to Scotland.
"Few countries have so many instantly recognisable
assets at their disposal and we will take advantage of
that.
"What we have seen in China with whisky is that sales
have boomed ever since tariff liberalisation began in 2000.
I think we have good reason to believe that the removal of
tourism barriers will open the way for a similar success
story for our tourism sector."