Meeting of the Parliament 13 September 2018
The food and drink sector is immensely important to our economy and to the people of Scotland. It contributes £5.5 billion to the economy each year, which is double the figure that it contributed in 2007, and makes up almost a fifth of our total manufacturing turnover, turning over £14.4 billion a year. Scotland’s 18,850 food and drink businesses employ more than 115,000 people. There has been incredible growth in the sector over the past decade, and Labour fully supports the aims that are set out in the Government’s “Ambition 2030” paper, which outlines a bold and ambitious vision to double turnover to £30 billion by 2030.
The food and drink industry is particularly important to rural communities such as the south of Scotland, which I have the privilege to represent. I will give members a taste of what I mean. My home region of Dumfries and Galloway is home to a thriving food and drink sector. Our farmers produce more than 40 per cent of Scotland’s dairy, and we can boast a range of fantastic artisan products from across the region. As a result of the importance and potential of the sector, the local Labour-led council has announced the development of a regional food and drink strategy that seeks to double the value of the region’s industry to £2.5 billion by 2030. That is an ambitious target, but it is one that the region is more than capable of realising, because, across Dumfries and Galloway, food and drink initiatives and businesses are creating new jobs, bolstering the local economy and attracting more tourists to the area than ever before.
As a local councillor, I launched the Dumfries and Galloway food trail, which invites people to eat and drink their way around the natural larder of the region to discover the artisan food and drink that are produced by some of the most passionate people in the business. I am talking about companies such as Cream o’ Galloway near the food town of Castle Douglas, where David and Wilma Finlay are leading the way in ethical farming by proving that there is an alternative to the export of live calves and, along the way, are producing some of the most amazing ice cream and cheese. Another such business is Loch Arthur, which I recently had the privilege, as the chair of Dumfries and Galloway’s Fairtrade steering group, of awarding Fairtrade flagship employer status, which helped to deliver Fairtrade status to the region.
The trail takes people behind the scenes at food and drink producers, including Annandale Distillery, which, after three years, is now producing its first whisky. I can personally vouch for the product. The region also boasts some of the busiest farmers markets, such as the new market at Dumfries railway station. We have some of the best food festivals and celebrations in the country, including the Stranraer oyster festival, which begins tomorrow. It celebrates not only Loch Ryan’s world-class oysters but the area’s culture and heritage.
With outstanding restaurants, cafes, guest houses and hotels, Dumfries and Galloway is the place to do business when it comes to food and drink, and it is playing its part in Scotland’s food and drink success story.
However, we are not without our major challenges. As the cabinet secretary is acutely aware, in fish processing the region is currently dealing with the economic tsunami that is being inflicted on the town of Annan by Young’s Seafood’s decision to close the Pinneys of Scotland factory, leading to the loss of 700 permanent and temporary jobs in a community with a working population of just 5,500. An action plan is being developed and the proposals for economic renewal that it puts forward must be backed by Scottish Government funding.
The region’s food and drink sector—along with the rest of Scotland—also faces the uncertainties of Brexit, which threatens our tariff-free access to markets as well as access to workers.