Minister announces £4m boost for ABP abattoir expansion

Meat processor ABP has been awarded a £4 million grant by the Scottish Government to expand the abattoir and beef packing facilities at its Perth plant.

One of the biggest awards under the Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation (FPMC) grant scheme, the company said the funding was an important part of an overall investment of nearly £18m in the site, aimed at transforming into a world-class facility.

The project would include the erection of several new factory buildings at the site and 80 jobs would be created.

Announcing the award, Scotland’s rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing said that the grant was part of a move to encourage long-term investment which was funded through the rural development programme and which was aimed at supporting businesses developing significant infrastructure projects which would benefit the entire sector.

ABP UK currently handles around 500,000 cattle and more than a million sheep a year through its plants in the UK and Northern Ireland each year, working with around 13,000 farmers to secure an annual turnover of £1.2 billion.

On a visit to the site earlier this week, Ewing said: “The Scottish Government is doing everything we can to support Scotland’s successful food and drink industry, which has been going from strength-tostrength in recent years. Our long-term ambition is to help double that industry’s value to £30bn in the next 12 years.”

He said that as well as creating local employment through new jobs at the plant, Scotland’s beef producers would benefit from the availability of high-quality processing facilities.

Tom Kirwan, managing director of ABP’S UK Division, said the project which would transform the Perth plant into one of the most modern facilities of its kind in the UK. He said: “The improvements will benefit everyone from our farmer suppliers through to our colleagues and the local economy.”