Meat industry plans full blooded assault on new markets

QUALITY Meat Scotland, the red meat industry economic development organisation with an annual budget of just short of £5 million, yesterday revealed its plans for the next 12 months.

It promises to be a challenging period, not the least because QMS will undergo a change of status and become a non-departmental public body in April 2008. Advertisements will appear shortly inviting applications of the 12-strong board with the candidates being subject to interview by an independent panel.

However, there will be little change in the operations of QMS which will continue to promote Scotch beef, lamb and pork in a wide range of outlets with a special focus on London where the market for beef alone is estimated to be worth at least 280 million.

Donald Biggar, the chairman of QMS, said: "Our brand awareness is very high and in Scotland it is comparable to Coca-Cola and McDonald's. But we want to increase beef sales in England, which accounts for 70 per cent of our market. In London we reckon that one in every eight people fits the profile as a potential buyer of Scotch beef."

The export market, which only re-opened last May, is continuing to grow with the principal markets being in France, the Netherlands, Italy and the Benelux countries. However, QMS is investigating the potential of new high-value markets in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong. Australian beef is on sale in these markets and Biggar reckons that the possibilities are "exciting".

The sheep trade has been in the doldrums for several months, largely as the result of higher penetration of New Zealand lamb and some erratic marketing by UK producers. QMS intends to conduct a "sheep sector intentions survey" to provide robust information on future sheep meat supplies. QMS has no plans to instruct farmers when to market their lambs, but hopes the survey will provide accurate information upon which producers can base their own sales programmes.

Biggar commented: "QMS exists to provide the information, industry support and marketing expertise forward thinking red meat industry businesses require to grow and thrive. The comprehensive and ambitious work under way for this year aims to help the broad range of red meat operations it is our job to serve.

"We have had valuable input from the industry itself at every stage of the planning process to make sure what we do is relevant to the industry's needs."

Scotland led the world in the concept of farm assurance and while standards are high, QMS remains determined to keep ahead of the competition. To that end it will be involved with a trial project jointly with the Scottish Agricultural College and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals aimed at capitalising on the traditional skills of producers and the high welfare standards practised on farms. This, said Biggar, "will give us more clout at supermarket check-outs".

Education remains a high priority and that will be given an added impetus by providing home economics teachers with vouchers which they can redeem when they purchase Scottish red meat from a range of outlets.

Louise Welsh, the QMS director of communications, explained: "Schools have told us in the past that they have no money to buy red meat and in many classes students only experience has been with turkey or chicken. This new scheme will address that situation because we are certain that if we can get young people used to red meat they will be the customers of the future."

Public procurement is another topic that QMS is working on and progress has been made with several local authorities in persuading them to use Scottish and preferably, local produce. County of origin labelling also on the QMS wish list. This topic is subject to a second period of consultation, but the problem is that at present any regulations will be based on each EU member state. Biggar hopes that the Scottish Parliament will treat this subject with a degree of urgency. He added that he anticipated Alex Salmond will press for a clear differentiation between Scottish product and the rest of the UK.

QMS will also be involved with a further VIA (video image analysis) exercise on beef carcasses in partnership with its sister organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Recent trials with lamb proved positive and it is hoped that this can be replicated with beef to give producers improved returns.