Hail to the haggis after world sales soar to £5m
SALES of haggis around the globe have rocketed, giving a £5 million boost to the Scottish economy.
As millions around the world gather to celebrate Burns Night, latest UK Government figures show the popularity of haggis has soared across Europe and as far afield as Hong Kong.
In the past four years, £4.85 million of haggis has been exported to 28 overseas countries while exports of Scotch whisky have also increased dramatically.
This year it is hoped the traditional Burns Night meal of haggis, neeps and tatties, washed down by a dram, will help the haggis and whisky industries secure record sales.
Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: ‘Robert Burns called haggis the “great chieftain o’ the puddin’ race” and it is wonderful that, more than 200 years later, this delicious, wholesome dish is being appreciated around the world.
‘More and more food and drink from Scotland and the rest of Britain is being sold abroad, thanks to this Government’s efforts and the success of our long-term economic plan. It is yet more proof of how we are stronger together in the United Kingdom.’
Haggis exports in 2013 were worth £1.04 million, up from £683,000 in 2011. The biggest customers outside the UK are Ireland, France, Spain and Hong Kong.
But one country where Scots expats will not be tucking into haggis is the United States, where the delicacy has been banned since 1971 because the US Department of Agriculture deems sheep’s lung, a key ingredient, ‘unfit for human consumption’. Jo Macsween, of Edinburgh-based haggis company Macsween, said: ‘We have seen a rise in haggis consumption outside of Scotland as our brand continues to grow, through innovation and our dedication to introducing our award-winning products to those who have yet to discover the versatile dish.
‘Haggis is indeed very popular in Europe, where consumers are engaged with nose-to-tail eating. In fact, haggis is actually an ancient global dish and many European countries have their own equivalents, so haggis is well received.
‘Haggis is very popular across the globe – we have seen requests from India, China and the Middle East. We hope that soon we will be able to provide American and Canadian consumers with the chance to finally taste authentic, high-quality Macsween haggis.’
Exports of Scotch whisky are worth £135 a second to our economy and contributed to a record year for the UK food chain, which generated £103 billion in 2013 and now employs one in every eight people.
In 2013, whisky exports were worth £4.36 billion to the UK economy, up 24 per cent on £3.5 billion in 2010.
But the Scotch Whisky Association called for the Treasury to follow the advice of Burns in his poem Scotch Drink and reduce the tax on whisky enforced by ‘thae curst horseleeches o’ th’ Excise’. Almost 80 per cent of the price of an average bottle of Scotch is tax.