Recent figures, encompassing 17,000 food and drink businesses, were unveiled at a Scotland Food & Drink reception held within the Scottish Parliament this week.
Published by the Scottish Government, these statistics stem from the Annual Business Survey and the Farming and Agricultural Census. They represent the industry’s value in 2023, considering a two-year timeframe for collation, verification, and analysis.
Notably, food and drink emerged as Scotland’s third-largest industry by value, contributing a remarkable £7 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the economy. This measure of profitability underscores the broad impact of the sector on communities across the nation, where 123,000 individuals are employed in producing Scottish food and drink.
The increase in industry value can be attributed to both domestic and export growth, alongside elevated market prices driven by inflationary pressures on input and energy costs.
Iain Baxter, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, revealed these pivotal data points during the organization’s Parliamentary reception in Holyrood.
He stated: “Ordinarily we’d be toasting the success of industry growth, but with the new figures, we’re cautiously optimistic rather than celebratory.”
“This has been achieved during some incredibly challenging times, including the fallout from Brexit, the war in Ukraine, the Middle East Crisis, and the global pandemic. It shows how the power of perseverance, ambition, partnership, and continued investment in one of Scotland’s most valuable and resilient industries can ensure sustainable growth.”
Baxter further noted that despite facing intensifying global competition and rising costs, as well as sustainability issues and labor shortages, these figures illustrate the resilience of the Scottish food and drink industry in recent years.
“Food price inflation has undoubtedly played a part in the growth of our sector’s value, but Scottish food and drink producers are under significant cost pressures arising from stubbornly high input costs,” he explained.
“Persistently high input costs, labor shortages, infrastructure gaps, international competition, regulatory pressures, and the urgent need to transition to Net Zero all demand coordinated action – action that, through our partnership, we are committed to taking.”
