The statistics showed that food exports specifically had risen to an all-time high of £1.9bn, up 12.8% on 2021.
Scots Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon welcomed the publication of the HMRC’s new trade statistics, which were a testament to the quality, innovation and skill shown by the industry across the length and breadth of Scotland.
Successful collaboration
“It is hugely welcome to see Scotland’s food and drink exports were worth a record £8.1 billion in 2022,” said Gougeon. “These figures show the results of that successful collaboration between the private sector and industry.”
“The food and drink industry is vital to Scotland. It creates jobs, wealth and helps attract people to the country by promoting our produce around the globe.
“The Scottish Government has long supported the sector – particularly through the various challenges of the last few years caused by Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising inflation. We have worked with industry to strengthen and unlock markets across the globe for Scottish producers through the Scotland Food & Drink Export Plan.”
Gougeon also commented on the strong performance of Scotland’s international goods exports across a number of commodities.
‘Greater than the UK’
“When excluding oil and gas, the value of Scotland’s goods exports increased by 20.5% in 2022 compared with 2021, which is greater than the 13.3% increase experienced by the UK as a whole,” she explained. “The EU market continues to be vitally important to Scotland’s trade, worth £9.4bn in 2022.
“We will continue to focus on delivering our plan to grow exports and build on this progress, through the National Strategy for Economic Transformation.”
Meanwhile, last month saw prime minister Rishi Sunak agree a new Brexit deal for Northern Ireland with European Commission president Ursula Van der Leyen, which would see the end of restrictions on the trade of goods traveling overseas in the UK.
