Offally good! Canada’s ‘real’ haggis
IT’S a beloved tradition – and soon Canadians and even Singaporeans may be piping in Scottish-made haggis.
For those marking Burns Night, this year’s event may be an extra special one – thanks to the arrival of seven tons of haggis in Canada from Macsween of Edinburgh.
The meat firm has started to export to Canada, where there are believed to be 4.7 million people of Scottish heritage – starved of their national dish for 46 years.
Canada lifted its ban on red meat from Europe in 2015, but a block on offal remains. So Macsween has had to create a new recipe without sheep’s lung – which may upset purists.
The firm has this winter also begun exporting to Asia, shipping more than a ton of haggis to Singapore so far. The consignments arrived in time for January 25.
Managing director James Macsween is hoping the exports to Canada and Singapore will provide a £150,000 sales boost in the year to July 2018. He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We’ve got a history of selling haggis abroad.
‘We’ve still been exporting throughout the year to France, Germany and the Netherlands.
‘But getting products further afield is certainly high on our agenda.’
Macsween sells 1,400 tons of haggis across the UK and 10 tons to other European Union markets.
It is also hopes to export to the US, once regulations have been relaxed.