Scottish producers to share in £6m grant scheme

The funding, provided by the Scottish Government’s Food Processing Marketing Cooperation (FPMC) fund, was designed to help producers invest in infrastructure, upgrade or replace facilities and purchase new equipment.

Six processing companies in the northeast shared £1.77m from the fund, with the highest single award of £715,157 received by producer Aberdeen and Northern Eggs. As full list of the companies that received funding can be found in the box below.

Supporting the sector ​

Commenting on the Scottish Government’s latest round of funding, rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing said: “The Scottish Government is doing everything we can to support the sector’s long-term ambition to double in value to £30bn in the next 12 years.​

“The FPMC grant scheme is an important part of that ambition, using joint Scottish Government and European Union funding to give local businesses a helping hand, which will ensure the long-term viability of our primary producers, and maximise export markets for our fantastic Scottish produce.”​

£13.9bn turnover ​

The food and drink industry in Scotland had a turnover of more than £13.9bn last year and employed more than 110,000 people. Scotch whisky remained the top of the UK’s food and drink exports list last year, while Salmon, another iconic Scottish product, fell (down 20.1%).

Meanwhile, Scottish food bodies have joined forces to “implore” ​the Government to avoid a no-deal Brexit situation that could cost the industry over £2bn in lost sales a year.​​

In a joint letter to politicians in all parties, representatives from food trade organisations – including Scotland Food & Drink, Food and Drink Federation Scotland and Quality Meat Scotland – warned of the impact of a no-deal Brexit situation.