Jim Beam freezes production at its main Kentucky distillery
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Why is Jim Beam halting production at its Kentucky distillery?
Jim Beam freezes production at its main plant in Kentucky. Live from the UK, this is the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. I'm Gideon Long. Good morning. One of the most famous names in American whiskey, Jim Beam has said it will halt production at its main facility in Kentucky for the whole of next year. Like many distillers in the US, it's facing pressure from retaliatory tariffs and weaker consumer demand. I'm joined by the BBC's Surinjana Tiwari. Hi, Surinjana. Hi there. So earlier this year, we saw Canadians boycotting Jim Beam and indeed other American whiskers and other American products. Is that responsible for the problems that Jim Beam is now facing? It's a big part of it.
What impact do retaliatory tariffs have on whiskey production?
I mean, these trade spats, the retaliatory tariffs, the tariffs in the first place, they've caused a lot of uncertainty for businesses around the world, including whiskey makers, spirit makers, alcohol makers in general, and they've been unable to plan their businesses as a result. Now, this is also about a fall in sales because demand is down. There's so much uncertainty in the global economy. People are generally tending to spend less, Consumers are spending less on things like alcohol. That means that all that liquor that's been produced until now, there's huge volumes of it. And that's what Jim Beam is facing. Apparently, Kentucky has got a lot of aging casks where the whiskey is kept, barrels rather.
And it's actually taxed higher by the state for having older barrels. And Jim Beam is an iconic American brand, but its owner is actually a huge Japanese company, Suntory. And Suntory owns lots of other brands. It owns Scotch whiskey brands, Japanese whiskey brands, and also tequila. Is Suntory facing challenges with its other brands? I think because of the global economy, a lot of these types of brands are facing challenges. Japan is also facing rising prices. People are feeling the pinch, especially at the supermarket. And again, when it comes to these types of discretionary spending, then you'll see a hit to sales, a hit to demand. The other thing to note, and there is a report out of the UK today as well, people are just drinking less.
How is consumer demand affecting the whiskey industry?
Younger people are drinking less alcohol, whether that's because of the pressure on their wallets, because of inflation and rising prices, or it's just a cultural thing as well. So, Anjana, thanks for joining us here on Marketplace. Thank you. Let's do the numbers. Global tech giant Apple and two of its subsidiaries have been fined $115 million in Italy for abuse of a dominant market position. The case relates to Apple's distribution of apps on its App Store. And China said it will hit some dairy imports from Europe with tariffs of up to 43%. The products include fresh and processed cheese and cream. The price of gold has once again hit a record high. It surged past $4,400 per ounce on Monday for the first time ever.
What challenges is Suntory facing with its whiskey brands?
2025 has been a remarkable year for precious metals. Gold has soared over 60%. Silver has climbed nearly 140%. I spoke to John Reid, Senior Market Strategist of the World Gold Council. I asked him what was behind the rise. the pronouncements and decisions taken by the Trump administration, which with tariffs and other things that have been announced this year, have really encouraged a big pickup in investment demand, particularly in the US and in Western Europe. And do you think it'd be right to say that the rise that we saw in the gold price in 2025 had a halo effect on other precious metals? I think that's true. It's difficult for the other precious metals to behave well if gold is not increasing.
But there have been other precious metal specific factors which have driven silver and platinum in particular higher. These two are connected with some of the pronouncements from the Trump administration, particularly regarding tariffs. which has seen a lot of precious metals move to the United States in fear of or anticipation of tariffs being imposed. Clearly, there's a lot of momentum behind gold at the moment. Is that something that you expect to continue into 2026?
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