The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
‘Lifeline’ £10 million for seafood processors
Government launches new fund to help keep fish firms afloat
North and northeast seafood processors who are struggling to stay afloat during the Covid-19 crisis have been thrown a £10 million lifeline by the Scottish Government.
Launching the new Scottish Seafood Business Resilience Fund (SSBRF) yesterday, Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said it would help firms to meet their ongoing costs, keeping them solvent and their employees in jobs.
Industry leaders welcomed the measures, although trade association boss Jimmy Buchan said processors were “keen to learn more of the detail about how the scheme will operate”.
The SSBRF will deliver grants and loans to businesses suffering severe hardship following the shutdown of international markets and the food service industry across the UK.
Mr Ewing said: “The Scottish Government is working flat-out to support businesses which are adversely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Parts of the seafood sector have been decimated by the collapse of the export and hospitality markets, and are now struggling to survive.
“Our seafood processors are the lifeblood of many rural and coastal communities, supporting thousands of local jobs and producing some of the finest seafood in the world.
“The industry has been very clear that cash flow is the critical issue facing businesses.”
He added: “This new fund seeks to inject capital into businesses to help them meet their ongoing costs, keep the business solvent and keep people on the payroll.
“Our approach is rightly focused on those businesses who may need our support the most and we would encourage others that can step in to help to do so.
“We will now move to get these funds out of the door as quickly as possible to assist a sector which has been a real success story for the Scottish economy.”
Mr Ewing said the government was also looking at how supermarkets and other retailers could help to make sure more of this country’s seafood – much of which is traditionally exported – reaches Scottish consumers.