THE Peruvian ambassador to the UK has denied claims the South American country would look to make its own Scotch derivative, post-Brexit.
MP Chris Bryant said Peru is considering making its own Scotch, as opposed to importing from Scotland, during a debate in the House of Commons last week.
The former Foreign Office minister, who was part of a trade delegation to Lima in September, said: "The Peruvian ministers asked what we'd want out of a new free-trade deal.
"The Peruvians said 'we know what we want'.
"And that is all Scotch whisky to be made in Peru and not in Scotland — or at least 40 per cent of it, or at least bottled in Peru."
However, the claims were disputed by Ambassador Susana de la Puente who said: "No authority of Peru mentioned anything to do with Scotch whisky."
The prized export is protected as a product under geographical indication, meaning it must come from Scotland to be labelled as Scotch.
In response to growing concerns about Mr Bryan'ts claim, a spokesperson for the Scotch Whisky Association said: "Peru is a growing market for Scotch Whisky with exports worth £32million last year.
"Following implementation of the EU-Peru Free Trade Agreement in 2013, Scotch is exported tariff-free to Peru – down from 9 per cent – and is recognised as a geographical indication (GI), a product that must be made in Scotland.
"The SWA would seek the same conditions under a future UK-Peru FTA once the UK leaves the EU and we are working closely with the UK Government on this and other Brexit-related matters."
A spokesman for the Department for International Trade added: "In September we announced a dialogue with Peru, Colombia and Ecuador seeking continuity in our trading relationships post Brexit.
"Scotch is a UK export success story.
"Currently the Scotch whisky geographical indication is protected by EU law and we will ensure that this protection and definition continues after our EU exit."
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