A year of milk and honey for food industry

ALMOST £33 million is expected to be spent on food and drink by those visiting international events being held in Scotland in 2014.

The country’s food and drink companies have an action plan they hope will see them capitalise on not only the Commonwealth Games, but also the Ryder Cup and Year of Homecoming. Created in partnership between the Scottish Government, enterprise agencies, Event Scotland and Scotland Food and Drink, the plan follows a study that shows the amount spent on food and drink at events over the next ten years will peak in 2014.

It is hoped that by fully exploiting longer-term opportunities created in that year, the industry will be worth £12.5 billion annually to the Scottish economy.

Rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead said: “It’s vital companies prepare in advance to give themselves the best possible opportunity to reap the rewards on offer.”

CHRIS MARSHALL