Beefing up Scotland’s red meat exports

They may not immediately reap the benefits but yesterday was a good day for those in the Scottish beef industry.

First an independent survey named Scotch beef as the biggest-selling Scottish food and drink brand in Great Britain.

Then the Scottish Government announced a £300,000 grant to Quality Meat Scotland to further promote Scotch beef and lamb sales in Europe.

And then to further boost home sales of beef, Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of market research company IGD, stated that, despite the current economic squeeze on consumers, more than a quarter of buyers were still prepared to pay a bit extra for quality red meat where the traceability was known and where animal welfare was assured.

Announcing the work that listed Scotch beef as the top brand, Jim McLaren, QMS’s chairman, described it as a great achievement as it underlined the importance of Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork production to the Scottish economy and to Scotland’s reputation as a land of food and drink.

Speaking at the QMS marketing conference in South Queensferry, McLaren said: “Scotch Beef is an iconic brand and one that even in these financially gloomy times, people still desire and are willing to cut other costs to continue eating.

“The strength of our brands, coupled with work by QMS to improve the efficiency and performance of the whole red meat chain, is an important part of creating a sustainable and prospering Scottish red meat industry.

“Our investment is in areas where we have the opportunity to further boost the quality and reputation of our product at home and abroad.”

The announcement by rural affairs secretary, Richard Lochhead that the government was awarding additional cash to help push red meat exports in Europe was also welcomed by McLaren.

Half the money will be used to appoint two new trade development advisers to cover France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg with the aim of achieving increased exports growth in these established markets.

And then following on an announcement made back in October at the food fair in Cologne, two export market managers are to be appointed for Germany and the Nordic countries, to underpin efforts to unlock the potential of these markets and diversify European demand for Scottish red meat.

Lochhead said that, while it was very encouraging to reach the £100 million export figure for red meat in the past year, it was “not a time to rest on our laurels”.

Denney-Finch, also speaking at the conference, said that, despite the economic gloom and financial pessimism, the top things that people were still prepared to pay a bit extra for were quality ingredients, animal welfare standards, locally produced food and a known country of origin.

“Producers can build on this and really promote their Scottish credentials as a byword for quality.”