Hansard

I am pleased to speak in today’s debate on food and drink, not least because, as members can probably tell, I am no stranger to the first-class food and drink that Scotland has to offer. The cabinet secretary said that waistlines have increased by an average of 2 inches in recent years; in my case it is sadly well above that average, but there is always hope—and, of course, willpower.

I am pleased that the Scottish Government’s recipe for success has indeed been a success since 2009. I look forward to the becoming a good food nation initiative being rolled out, along with the whole-hearted participation of everyone in Scotland, which will be necessary.

My constituency of Falkirk East—and the wider Falkirk district—plays its part already: we can boast an impressive number of notable food retailers and producers. In Falkirk East, there are companies with international operations such as Caledonian Produce in Bo’ness, part of the Bakkavor Group, which produces ready-made salads solely for Marks and Spencer using locally sourced ingredients. The state-of-the-art Whyte and Mackay bottling plant is in Grangemouth.

The cabinet secretary will recall visiting Bakkavor-Caledonian Produce following its further expansion in 2012, and I hope that he will also be available to visit Whyte and Mackay’s state-of-the-art bottling plant at some point in the near future, as I have recently received confirmation from the chief executive officer that the plant will remain in operation following the purchase by Philippines-based Emperador Distillers.

My constituency is not just a home for industrialisation and big business; it is also home to a wide range of small food and drink companies and new starts, such as the Grangemouth-based Caledonian Cheesecake Company, the Tablet Company and a new whisky distillery outside Polmont, which was made possible by a generous grant from the Scottish Government. The Falkirk Distillery Company, which has the plant half-built at the moment, is expected to provide 86 full-time jobs and to attract 75,000 visitors, on the back of the world-class attractions of the Kelpies, the Helix and the Falkirk wheel.

When debating Scottish food and drink and the Government’s plan for Scotland to become a good food nation, we must remember all aspects of our food heritage, good and bad, and acknowledge the impact that they have on our culture.

Falkirk is, famously, the original home of Scotland’s other national drink, Irn-Bru. It is now produced in my colleague Jamie Hepburn’s constituency but, originally, it was produced in Falkirk, from 1901. The drink is enjoyed by millions worldwide and is a true Scottish success story but, arguably, it does not meet the healthy standards that are encouraged by the Scottish Government.

Nor, I suspect, would one of Mathiesons’ legendary sausage rolls. Mathiesons Bakery has been trading in the Falkirk district since 1872 and is now based in Larbert, near Mrs Tilly’s traditional Scottish confectionery and Malcolm Allan the butchers. With encouragement from the Scottish Government, Malcolm Allan has produced a healthier burger and a lower-calorie sausage, and sells more than 1 million pies and more than 20 million Lorne sausages each year—some of which I have to confess have been consumed by me, but purely in the interest of supporting the local economy.

The list of successful food and drink companies in Falkirk district goes on. It is one of the most industrialised areas in Scotland, right in the middle of the central belt. The food and drink industry in Scotland is in a very healthy position, and these good news success stories of companies large and small, old and new are in no small part due to the support of the Scottish Government through initiatives such as recipe for success and the forthcoming 2015 year of food and drink.

However, there are challenges to overcome, and more can and should be achieved. As a former wholesale and retail butcher, I know at first hand that food and drink is an industry with a keen eye on price. Profit margins can be small, which can be challenging, especially in manufacturing, as supermarkets can negotiate ruthlessly and then take up to three months to pay out.

As we move into 2015 and launch the year of food and drink, we must keep it in mind that, by volume and value, Scotland has some of the largest protected food names in the European Union, with high-value products such as Scotch beef and Scottish farmed salmon accounting for around £700 million in sales.

Sadly, revenue generated by Scotch beef and other Scottish red meat could be much greater, if only the Westminster Government would give Scotland a fair deal. Members will recall my motion last year and the debate earlier this year regarding the red meat levy. It highlighted that the Prime Minister and the UK Government have refused to return the levy paid by Scotland’s livestock producers who have cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered in the rest of the UK. That is believed to cost Quality Meat Scotland £1.4 million a year. I thank the members who supported my motion. However, I was disappointed that it did not receive cross-party support.

Red meat is not the only area of food and drink where Scotland would be better off if we could get a fair deal from Westminster. Scotland exports vast quantities of whisky around the world, in particular to developing markets in the BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India and China. These exports of a product that is entirely made in Scotland with Scottish ingredients see more than £4.3 billion going to the Westminster Exchequer. That is a travesty, which I am sure the Scottish Government will continue to work to correct.

It is time for Scotland to stop hiding its light under a bushel and to step forward to claim its rightful place as one of the world’s best food and drink producers. Scotland’s food and drink tourism industry is worth around £2.5 million per day, as we heard earlier. It is a market with great potential for growth, and it is one that I am sure the year of food and drink and the approach in “Becoming a Good Food Nation” will greatly improve.

As always, I have more to say but, sadly, my time is running out, so I will draw my comments to a close.