Co-operation is the only way to secure Scots beef
A step change in sectorwide collaboration and a major post-brexit focus on support measures aimed at boosting production levels will be required to secure the future of Scotland’s world-famous beef industry.
That was the claim made yesterday following a toplevel meeting between leaders of the country’s farming and meat wholesalers – where a call was made for the government to commit to the longterm stability of the sector in light of the continuing uncertainty over Brexit.
Stressing that it was imperative that moves were taken to reverse the long-standing decline in Scottish cattle numbers, the president of the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW), Frank Clark, called on leadership from the Scottish Government and its advisers: “We need the Scottish Government and its agriculture champions to explore new, innovative and forward-thinking proposals that will incentivise farmers to rebuild their herds, ensuring that production is no longer stuck in decline.”
He said that without such action, Scotland’s farmers and processors would find themselves facing an increasingly intense period of post-brexit meat trade competition without the raw materials to either secure sales domestically or contest for business in the international marketplace.
“If we are to truly benefit from the premium nature of Scottish beef, we need to see an increased all-industry focus on production, fully supported by dedicated government resources,” said Clark.
“While our members remain optimistic about the future and continue to invest heavily in both processing facilities and sales initiatives, recent trends show we need a step change in collaboration and support to reverse the continued decline in Scottish cattle numbers.”
Agreeing on the need for the different areas of the industry to work together to identify opportunities while continuing to promote the positive credentials of Scottish livestock production, NFU Scotland president Andrew Mccornick said: “It’s clear that all parts of the chain are concerned about the on-going uncertainty over the future of trade and government support. Despite the reasonable stability over the last decade we have seen livestock numbers falling as a general trend.
Mccornick said that livestock production continued to bring significant economic benefits to the communities of rural Scotland – and said it should play a significant part in Scotland’s ambition of achieving £30 billion food and drink industry turnover by 2030: “For this to happen we need to see government work with industry to bolster Scottish production if we are to stop the decline in livestock numbers.”