Scotland’s food sector set for major growth
Scotland’s National Food and Drink Policy, launched last Friday, aims to boost sales of food and drink from north of the border by a third to £10bn by 2017.
Recipe for success, which outlines the next steps for the Scottish government’s food and drink strategy, was unveiled at the Royal Highland Show on June 26.
Announcing the plans, Scotland’s rural affairs and environment secretary Richard Lochhead said TNS Worldpanel data indicated retail sales of Scottish brands across Great Britain rose by a fifth (£270M) between May 2007 and May 2009. At the same time, sales of Scottish brands in Scotland over the same period increased by 18%.
Scotland’s food and drink policy incorporates a new charter with Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury, the Co-operative Group, Waitrose, Lidl, Aldi and Marks & Spencer, to promote Scottish products. The retailers have committed to working with the industry to tackle issues such as health and wellbeing, animal welfare and environmental concerns.
The document also lays out plans to pump another £3,3M from the Food Processing and Marketing Grants Scheme into 16 new projects. This would take the number of jobs created and safeguarded by the scheme to more than 3,000 in less than a year, attracting additional investment of £70M.
Further aims include encouraging foodservice outlets and hotels to sell more Scottish food, supporting farming and local sourcing initiatives and promoting knowledge of the food chain in schools.
“Sales of Scottish produce have soared by a stunning 21% and Scottish food exports to countries outside the UK increased by 16% between early 2007 and early 2009,” said Lochhead. “With this feel good factor and wealth of talent at our disposal the time is right to create a food and drink revolution.
‘‘Recipe for success’’ follows a wide-ranging consultation launched last summer, focusing on issues such as sustainability, healthy eating, provenance, public sector procurement and food security.
