Scotch whisky is worth more than £5bn to the UK economy, according to a report that highlights its contribution to the country’s exports and job creation.

Distillers spread from the lowlands of Scotland to as far north as Kirkwall in Orkney directly employ 10,900 people, but they also support a further 30,000 jobs through the supply chain, the research group 4-consulting found.

The figures make whisky the third biggest industry in Scotland, behind energy and financial services, comprising about 70% of the entire Scottish food and drink sector. The industry dwarfs tourism and the creative sector and is nearly three times the size of Scotland’s digital or life science industries.

With the vast bulk of sales abroad, it represents three-quarters of Scottish and more than a fifth of the UK’s food and drink exports, bringing in £4.3bn a year, the study for the Scotch Whisky Association said. The UK total is £19.4bn.

Despite a slowdown in exports, more than 1.26bn bottles of whisky are shipped each year. Exports to the US alone were worth almost £820m in 2013, a record high.

Using a “value-added” measure to gauge the contribution to the economy, the research found the industry is bigger than the UK’s iron and steel, textiles, shipbuilding or computer industries.

The sector is expanding at unprecedented rates, with around 30 new distilleries being planned or built across Scotland, the report said.Capital investment reached £142m in 2013, up 31% since 2008.

At its peak during the 1970s, the industry accounted for just over 20,000 jobs across the whole of Scotland. But the 1980s marked the start of an extended downturn, triggering significant structural change. In January last year, Japanese whisky-maker Suntory acquired Teacher’s and Laphroaig, among others, when it bought their owner, Beam Inc.

With many distilleries based in rural parts of the country, the report also highlights the industry’s role as an employer outside town and city centres.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Duty on whisky and other spirits was frozen in last year’s budget. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The trade body published the figures as it stepped up its campaign for a 2% cut in excise duty in the March budget. The whisky association’s chief executive, David Frost, said: “Given the scale and impact of the scotch whisky industry, we believe the government should show its support. It is unfair on the industry and consumers, and detrimental to the economy, that almost 80% of the average price of a bottle of scotch is taxation.”

The report – The Economic Impact of Scotch Whisky Production in the UK –found that the direct economic impact was £3.3bn, with a further £1.8bn spent on suppliers of bottles and packaging, plus energy, transport and distribution.

The association threw its weight decisively behind the no campaign leading up to last year’s independence referendum, and one producer, William Grant, reportedly donated £100,000 to the Better Together campaign.

William Grant, maker of Glenfiddich, had a turnover of more than £1bn in 2013 and is one of the few scotch whisky producers to remain in family ownership.

A Treasury spokeswoman said: “Scotch whisky is a huge British success story – to support the industry we ended the spirits duty escalator and froze the duty on whisky and other spirits at last year’s budget. That means a bottle of scotch whisky is now 42p cheaper than it would have been if the escalator had continued. The government has also introduced the spirits verification scheme. This will help protect the integrity and high reputation of scotch whisky by helping consumers in the UK and abroad to identify genuine products and avoid fakes.”