EU trade deal is vital for lamb exports says QMS
With political wrangling over the shape of the future trade deal with the EU now joined by equally vociferous protests over the pro - posed details of the UK internal market, a reminder of the importance of these two key sales outlets to Scotland’ s livestock producers was issued this week.
Speaking at the launch of the latest edition of Quality Meat Scotland’s Scottish Red Meat Industry Profile, the organisation’s senior economist, Iain Macdonald, highlighted the fact that 11 per cent of the sector’s total revenue was generated from overseas sales – with 97-98 per cent of that destined for the EU.
“However, the sheepmeat processing sector is particularly exposed, with 29.5 per cent of revenue earned outside the UK, highlighting its potential exposure to any market disruption from the beginning of 2021,” he warned.
But Macdonald also highlighted the importance of sales to the rest of the UK to Scottish lamb producers. He revealed that, with low consumption of lamb north of the Border, abattoir production within Scotland stood at an estimated 228 percent of local demand in 2019, while onfarm production stood at whopping 567 per cent of consumption.
The document also placed a value on the importance of the red meat sector to Scotland’ s economy, revealing that farm output from cattle, sheep and pig production totalled £1.17 billion in 2019 and accounted for just under 35 per cent of Scotland’s agricultural output – with the beef sector alone accounting for just under 24 per cent.
The primary red meat processing sector was estimated to have generated £783.5 million of revenue, employed around 3,000 workers and spent £72m on salaries.
The sector report also reemphasised the fact that access to skilled labour from the EU remained vital for many processors –with employees from this region accounting for an estimated 43 per cent of the workforce in packing and processing factories as well as slaughterhouses.
Meanwhile beef, lamb, pork and chicken producers from across the EU yesterday struck out at the “hi-jacking” of the names of popular meat and dairy products – such as steak, burger, sausage and milk – which were often applied to plant-based “imitations” by multinational food companies.
“Such marketing of dairy and non-meat products can clearly mislead the EU consumers into thinking that these imitations are an ‘equal’ substitute to originals,” said an alliance of European meat bodies.
In an open letter they stated that substitution was a powerful marketing concept used to reassure consumers that they were simply replacing one product with another of similar quality :“However, while that plant-based products can constitute a source of protein they cannot guarantee the same nutritional intake as the animal products they are trying to imitate.
“In addition we cannot accept there present ation of these u lt ra-processed products as healthier options given that they are often high in additives, salt, sugar and fat,” said the alliance.
They also argued that terms such as bacon, ham, carp accio, steak, fi let, chops and salami were all traditional denominations which had been shaped over time by the hard work of farmers and butchers – adding that such terms should be given the same protection as that afforded to foods with PGI status.