Traditionally, Scotland is known for its well-loved whisky, haggis and shortbread.  Today, the country is a major exporter of food, offering top-quality farm, dairy and seafood produce.

From organically reared to hand fed and everything in between, Scotland enjoys a strong market for its seafood, beef, lamb, salmon, venison, cheese, whisky, ales and confectionery.

Scotland is host to a fantastic array of natural resources for food and drink, including clean and unpolluted water sources for fishing, unspoiled natural grassland for raising cattle and fresh water and barley for whisky. Coupled with excellent creativity and world-renowned chefs, Scotland’s food and drink offerings are second to none.

Scotland’s food and drink industry is recognised as a major plank in the Scottish economy, which generates nearly £10 billion a year.

In 2009, the industry exported £4.01 billion of food and drink products and generated around £7.5 billion in sales. That figure is growing as the industry has set itself ambitious targets to raise its sales figures.

The scale of the industry

The majority of Scotland’s food and drink sales figures come from over 1200 processing companies and their supply chains. Agriculture, aquaculture and fishing add another £2.5 billion.

Primary producers are the backbone of the industry in Scotland. Scotland is now the world’s second largest salmon producer and lands 70 percent of the UK’s fish.

As a nation, we also have more than one quarter of the UK’s beef herd, grow 40 percent of the nation’s soft fruit crop, and are renowned as producers of seed potatoes.

A worldwide reputation

Complementing the produce and the producers, Scotland also has a wealth of talent who inspire a healthy respect for food.  Top chefs emerging from Scotland include:

  • Nick Nairn
  • Tom Kitchin
  • Clair MacDonald
  • Geoff Smeddle
  • Tony Singh
  • Martin Wishart
  • Andrew Fairlie
  • Gordon Ramsay
  • Tony Borthwick

Scottish restaurants also showcase the value in eating locally sourced seasonal food. The likes of The Three Chimneys, Oloroso, Gleneagles and The Kitchin offer the ultimate experience in fine dining.