Scottish food ambassadors target China

A campaign run by Scotland Food and Drink (SFD), an industry quango, has  already installed an ambassador in Shanghai, whose role  is half-funded by its members in the salmon and seafood  industry.

But James Withers, the chief executive of SFD, believes there is an increasing demand for western-style produce in the Far East,  including meat and milk, which are not traditionally part of their cuisine.

Withers pointed out that 500g tins of powdered milk from Ireland were retailing for the equivalent of £40 in China, a legacy of the tainted baby-milk scandal which caused the death of six children four years ago.

“Ireland is selling skimmed milk powder at a huge premium, based on the fact that there is very little limit on what Chinese parents will spend on their children in terms of food and health. Also there is a distrust of domestic production,” he said.

He added there was also scope for small artisan cheesemakers to target Asia.

“In more affluent parts of the big cities in China, there is a demand for these new types of products,” he said.

The group will enlist the services of an export manager in Germany, who was hired in April by Quality Meat Scotland to promote Scottish  beef and lamb but who will also dedicate his time to  other sectors.

Withers said the move to create a global network dedicated to food and drink will help Scottish producers “catch up” with rivals in Denmark, Ireland and New  Zealand whose food exports far surpass those of Scotland despite being similar in “size and clout”.

He said overseas agency Scottish Development International (SDI) has offices in 25 countries, but not all of them are key export markets.

He said: “The Irish Food Board has ten offices around the world dedicated to food and drink alone.

“We have the first person on the ground in Shanghai, but Ireland is putting four more people in Shanghai alone dedicated to food and drink.

“New Zealand is also very active and so is Denmark – we need to catch up.

“SDI does a fantastic job for us in food and drink, but the reality is it has to cover every other sector of the economy as well.”

He insisted the new model would not be a burden on Scottish public sector budgets, as the new roles would be part-funded by industry.

A spokesman for SDI said: “Although food specialists would be independent of SDI, they would still work closely with SDI on the opportunities we identify.”

Margaret McGinlay, director of food and drink at Scottish Enterprise, said: “Key to Scotland’s economic success in exporting is the collaborative approach and, working closely with a range of key partners including Scotland Food and Drink, we have seen food and drink exports hit a record high of £5.6 billion in the last year, exceeding the industry’s targets six years ahead of schedule.

“We continue to work closely with the industry to explore opportunities for further dedicated support through overseas specialists.”