A new five-year strategy has launched which aims to make Scotland the choice for premium red meat amid growing uncertainty and volatility.
Launched by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), the strategy is built around three pillars: provenance, productivity and profitability, and planet and place.
The five-year plan [PDF] looks to lead the development of Scotland’s red meat sector by launching three ‘game-changing’ projects that will turn the strategy into action.
QMS says the overall aim is to lead the development of the red meat sector by driving demand from consumers who recognise the brands as a mark on integrity, provenance and with sustainability at its core.
The delivery plan will enable the Scotch and Specially Selected Pork brands to compete in both the home and global markets, the levy board says.
The three projects, designed to grow the sector include advancing work on genomics, boosting brand integrity with world-leading assurance for customers, and securing funding for a verification system for the eating quality of Scottish red meat proteins.
The Scotch and Specially Selected Pork brands will also embrace new sustainability criteria, which will be delivered within the scope of the quality assurance schemes.
Responding to the strategy, Kate Rowell, chair of QMS, said the red meat industry had gone through a period of unprecedented volatility.
She added: "A global pandemic, a constitutional upheaval from leaving the European Union and a war on our Continent have all erupted in the last three years.
"Added to that, there is the ongoing climate emergency which is challenging the way the world lives, works, and consumes.
"Food security pressures are growing and, closer to home, wholesale change to agriculture policy is on the horizon."
Because of this, Ms Rowell said the levy board's new vision was to make Scotland the premium choice for red meat across the globe.
"Ambitious and bold, it reflects both the passion we have for the red meat supply chain we work on behalf of and our belief in its potential.”
It follows an independent impact report which showed that the Scottish red meat sector outperformed the rest of the UK by £130m in production and £124m in retail performances between 2016 and 2022.
Sarah Millar, chief executive at QMS, said the sector "knows what success looks like".
“Our aim is to make Scotland the choice for premium red meat, but we must be unwavering and commercial in our focus in order to achieve this," she said.
"We know what success looks like. It will be an industry with greater confidence, with profitability and productivity at its heart, delivering a product high in demand, viewed by our customers – here and overseas – as their premium red meat choice.
"Our new strategy will look to build on this and further enhance the opportunities to ensure our customers receive a strong return on levies paid.”
It follows a new industry report which revealed the Scottish red meat sector's contribution to food security and the rural economy.
It showed that turnover from Scottish red meat processing had risen for a third consecutive year – generating £926 million of output for Scotland's economy.
