Irish Whiskey Producers Face Another Difficult Year as Excess Stocks Weigh on the Market

Malting barley growers and whiskey producers in Ireland face another difficult year as the market works through excess inventories built up after the pandemic, according to executives speaking at an Irish tillage industry event in Cork.

Paul McGillicuddy, chief executive of Malting Company of Ireland, said the main problem for Irish whiskey is not weak consumer demand but stock that accumulated after Covid. Speaking at the Irish Tillage and Land Use Society’s summer field day, he said Irish whiskey sales continue to grow each year, but the sector still needs about another year to correct inventory levels.

He said Ireland’s position is stronger than Scotland’s, where the industry is dealing with both inventory pressure and weaker sales. In Ireland, he said, the expectation is that once stocks return to more normal levels, the market could move back to a more stable pattern in 2027 and 2028.

The pressure is not limited to distilling. McGillicuddy said global barley supply remains heavy after a very large 2025 harvest. Worldwide barley production reached 154 million tonnes last year, up by 10 million tonnes from the previous year. The forecast for 2026 is about 148 million tonnes. Even with that decline, supply remains large enough to weigh on prices and market balance.

Ireland produces less than 1% of global barley output, but it is exposed to shifts in international supply and demand. McGillicuddy said industrial use of barley is slowing globally, including in brewing, where even a small decline can have an outsized effect on malt demand. He told attendees that a 1-2% drop in beer production is significant for barley and malt markets. A 2% decline in brewing, he said, could cut malt demand by the equivalent of 500,000 to 800,000 tonnes of barley.

That matters across the drinks business because barley and malt are core inputs for beer and for part of the spirits sector. When brewing volumes soften by even a small margin, the effect can ripple through grain purchasing, malt demand, farm returns and production costs. For brewers and distillers, those shifts can affect margins and supply planning even when consumer demand changes only modestly.

Despite the weak backdrop, McGillicuddy said there are signs of improvement ahead. He pointed to Diageo’s investment in Ireland as a strong signal for the sector and said distilling activity should begin to recover from next year.

Sustainability was also a central issue at the event. McGillicuddy said Irish tillage farmers need verified data on their environmental performance if they want to secure better returns from the market. He said it is no longer enough for growers to say their emissions are low or that their practices are sustainable without measurement and proof.

He said that if Irish tillage can verify its sustainability credentials, customers may be willing to pay premiums tied to those standards. Malting Company of Ireland is working with Bord Bia on a pilot sustainability assurance scheme and sits on the technical advisory committee alongside representatives from Dairygold and Tirlán.

Later in the day, Ciara Egan of Irish Distillers said expansion work at Midleton is continuing at full pace. She said the company is preparing for future growth in markets including India and South Africa, two countries seen as offering room for higher spirits consumption over time.

Egan also urged growers to use AgNav, a tool designed to calculate farm carbon footprints. She said broader use of the system could benefit both farmers and processors as buyers place more weight on emissions data and traceability.

The comments reflect a market caught between short-term oversupply and longer-term optimism. For now, growers face another season shaped by weak malting conditions, slower industrial demand for barley and caution in whiskey production as companies work through existing stocks. But industry executives signaled that if inventories clear as expected and export growth continues in key markets, conditions could begin to improve from next year onward.