Hansard

Yes, but my concern remains that that review will take place in 2016-17, which is already too late, and that once it is completed and implemented, we will be into the next common agricultural policy period. Scotland needs the wrongs to be put right now, not later.

A range of sectors faces challenges, and we have had to step up to the plate and respond to them urgently. We have done our best to do that, particularly in areas such as dairy. In March, we launched our action plan, which was designed to help to ensure a viable future for the dairy sector in the context of extreme price volatility. Under the plan, we have unveiled a new dairy brand; supported dairy farmers through the dairy hub; given £400,000 of capital support to First Milk in Campbeltown; taken steps to encourage serious investment in processing; and taken every opportunity to beat the drum with retailers and others to increase the sourcing of Scottish produce. There is no reason whatsoever why 70 per cent of the dairy products that we consume should come from outside Scotland.

We have also been active in the poultry sector, and we have just established a sheep industry group to address marketing and processing capacity issues that have been outstanding for many years. Many of the causes of those issues are international, so many of the solutions must also be international. That is why we have argued strongly at successive EU councils for effective EU action: short-term measures that not only look at helping people, but actually deliver that help. It also means taking medium-term action such as mandatory country-of-origin labelling and decisive action on supply chains across Europe.

The clear message today, which I hope other parties in the chamber echo, is that there is much more that we can do at home in Scotland and throughout these islands. All parts of the supply chain must play their part—in particular, our food service sector and our retailers, which together account for around £200 billion of sales in the UK.

Let me make that real with an example. Many parts of the retail and food service sectors are booming—none more so than coffee shops on our high streets, with exponential growth forecast to continue for years to come. We spend £80,000 a day on coffee. However, consumers will be shocked to learn that when they buy their coffee at Costa on Princes Street or at Starbucks in Dumfries, the milk in their caffè lattes or cappuccinos will have been sourced from outside Scotland. That is a missed opportunity, when many Scottish dairy farmers face enormous challenges and need support in their hour of need. In addition, consumers will have been shocked to see New Zealand products on Tesco shelves advertised as “Scottish lamb in season”. Those things must and will be put right.

All is not doom and gloom. We are making real progress. This morning, I visited an Aroma cafe at the Western infirmary—one of 25 hospital branches that the national health service owns—to acknowledge Aroma’s policy of sourcing 100 per cent of its milk from Scotland.

Our hard work with catering companies and the retail sector is beginning to pay dividends. I was delighted that last week Brakes announced its commitment to double its sourcing of Scottish products. In due course, that could be worth hundreds of millions of pounds to the Scottish economy. I have heard similarly positive noises from another food service and catering business, 3663. In addition, I say “Well done” to the Crerar hotel chain, which has just committed to sourcing 100 per cent of its meat from Scotland. I could go on.

There is much more to do, but the tide is turning. The backdrop that we must not lose sight of is the booming food and drink industry. It is now at record levels, with a £14.3 billion turnover in 2013—up a staggering 28 per cent. The industry is growing at twice the rate of its counterparts elsewhere in the UK. A recent Bank of Scotland report predicted that the sector will create 14,000 new jobs, and producers forecast an average turnover growth of 19 per cent by 2020. It is a phenomenal success story, and we will do a lot more in the coming months and years to keep up that level of success.

However, there would be no record-breaking figures without the producers—those who produce the raw materials, take the risks, tend our landscapes and build our reputation—and they need to see profit shared across the supply chain. That is why I have been setting the pace with my UK counterparts in creating a fairer framework for farming. At the summit on 17 August, which I and NFU Scotland called for, I stressed that we have an unprecedented opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with our farmers. We can speak with one voice and put our case and our demands to the rest of the supply chain, especially UK retailers and food service companies. We need clearer labelling, more Scottish and British sourcing, commitments to develop local sourcing and real attempts to develop long-term relations with local suppliers.

I repeated those calls when I wrote to Liz Truss and at a further summit in Brussels. I am still waiting for her to step up to the plate and join ministers of the devolved Governments and farming leaders in a joint approach to the retail sector, so that we can combine our influence and send a powerful message, in what would be an unprecedented show of solidarity with our farmers.

That is key way forward to help our primary producers in this country. If ministers of the devolved Governments and the farming leaders are up for it, I hope that Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, will also be up for it. If she is, we can transform sourcing in Scotland and throughout the UK. That will help the whole supply chain, but particularly our farmers—our primary producers—without whom we would not have a food and drink industry or food on our tables.

I move,

That the Parliament notes the hard work and dedication of the men and women working in Scottish agriculture but recognises the current challenges facing the sector; notes the Scottish Government’s commitment to deliver 2015 CAP Pillar 1 payments as soon as it is able to do so, following the payment window opening on 1 December 2015; calls on the UK Government to allocate Scotland a fair share of Europe’s new €500 million market support package; further calls on the UK Government to revisit its decision not to allocate Scotland the full £190 million convergence uplift provided to the UK as a result of Scotland’s low payments, and for an urgent resolution to the negotiations with the UK to repatriate the industry’s red meat levies to Scotland; acknowledges the record growth in Scottish food and drink and calls on all parts of the supply chain to benefit, and welcomes the Scottish Government’s call for UK and Scottish ministers, along with farming leaders, to jointly approach UK retailers and food service companies to secure a fair deal for farming.