Scottish food and drink industry key facts
The Scottish food and drink industry enjoys an enviable, and entirely justifiable, reputation for excellence. A natural environment conducive to high-quality produce, and a willingness to innovate and embrace technological improvements, help ensure the prosperity of the food and drink industry in Scotland.
Generating billions of pounds for the Scottish economy each year, the food and drink industry provides employment for hundreds of thousands of people.
- Around 21 per cent of Scotland's manufacturing workforce is in the food and drink industry.
- The food and drink sector in Scotland generates sales of £7.57 billion per annum; around £3 billion of this total comes from whisky.
- This growing sector of the Scottish economy now involves over 1500 companies.
- The supply chain is highly influential in the food and drink industry, with over 65 per cent of Scottish output being supplied to the grocery trade.
- Scotland's unique geographical placing and excellent trade links with Europe and the rest of the UK give it excellent access to global food and drink markets.
- The food and drink industry supports over 50,000 Scottish manufacturing jobs, while 211,600 are employed in food service and retail sectors in Scotland.
- A GVA of £33,400 per employee is generated by the Scottish food and drink industry.
- Food and drink is responsible for 27 per cent of total Scottish manufacturing exports – worth around £3.6 billion to the country’s economy.
- Research and teaching relevant to the food and drink industry is carried out at universities and other high-quality research institutions across Scotland.
- There are over 25 colleges providing a range of food safety and processing qualifications, while other training providers offer a range of specialist courses.
Find out more key facts and figures specific to each sector of the Scottish food and drink industry:
Beverages
Health-enhancing foods
Red meat products
Seafood
Salmon
Beverages
- The beverage industry is the UK’s largest manufacturing sector and the contribution of whisky alone accounts for £3 billion of exports annually.
- The industry comprises large global organisations based in Scotland and a number of smaller companies.
- Sectors of the industry include spirits, carbonated drinks, bottled water and soft drinks, ready-to-drinks, and beer, lager and traditional ales.
Health-enhancing foods
- Growth of the health-enhancing foods sector continues to outstrip the main food market.
- Key health-enhancing food sector strengths include the availability of raw materials such as seafood, berries and oats.
- A whole range of research and development opportunities exist at Scottish universities and research establishments relating to health-enhancing foods:
Red meat products
- The Scottish meat industry enjoys a well-deserved reputation for the quality of its beef, lamb and pork.
- Scottish processors sold 180,000 tonnes of beef, 27,500 tonnes of sheep meat and 55,800 tonnes of pig meat with a value of some £690 million during 2005.
- Nearly 70 per cent of this production was sold outside Scotland.
Seafood
- Over 60 species are landed in Scotland, which helps to meet the diverse demands of today’s global consumer.
- Scotland’s seafood industry accounts for approximately 70 per cent of total UK landings.
- Over 2000 boats make total landings of more than 440,000 tonnes per year.
Salmon
- Scotland is the world’s third largest producer of Atlantic salmon.
- The retail sales value of Scottish salmon is around £300 million per annum.
- The salmon industry in Scotland supports 8500 jobs, of which 4500 are in remote rural communities.
Interested in the Scottish food and drink industry?
Find out more about Scottish food and drink and how your company can benefit within the industry. Contact SDI to discuss how we can help your company take advantage of the opportunities to invest in food and drink in Scotland.