The panel of witnesses to the special sitting of Holyrood's European Committee has now finished its evidence. For more information of the post-Brexit vote debate, follow the BBC's Scottish Politics pages.

David Frost said the whisky industry had been "quick off the mark" in terms of speaking to relevant people and politicians. He added that it was too early to say what issues will be found in the future. Mr Frost said he was repeating simple messages to as many people as possible.

Bertie Armstorng said fishing leaders were are already in touch with the Scottish government. He added: "I guess the UK government is still establishing its structure,. It is very early days."

Alastair Sim told the committe that Scotland's universities had good engagement with the Scottish government so far. He was pleased assurances were given early to 2016 students. Mr Sim added that it would be good to do the same for "our 2017 students".

MSPs raise questions on the "open skies" issue.

Gordon Dewar from Edinburgh Airport says it is "unlikely" that Scotland will lose flight access within Europe.

However, their situation is unclear regarding further afield and arrangements with the US. He cites Norwegian Air, which has access to Europe but experiences issues with the US.

Mr Dewar said that because we are an island nation, air links are important.

Virgin Money's Hugh Chater tells the committee that confidence must be maintained regarding the housing sector and investment in future infrastructure projects.

He believes that at the heart of the economy is the need for consumers to have belief that they can work and live well.

Mr Chater said it was important to ensure that there was a ready supply of lending. He added that it was "fundamentally vital" and needed to be considered in Scotland and more generally in the UK.

James Withers said it would be helpful to look at New Zealand, where subsidy deals in the agricultural sector were dramatically changed.

They shifted funding from direct farm payments to food processing and were the first country in the world to negotiate a free trade agreement with China, he says. 

He believes there could be many fresh opportunities for Scotland post Brexit.

The NFU will consult its members later in the year to see how they believe the "the future system" should be shaped.

Union representative Clare Slipper believes that this is not the time for a "knee-jerk reaction".

She said now was the time to try to make the system a better one for the future. 

Ms Slipper said it was a prime opportunity to look again at payouts and "reward farmers who are farming".

The director of Universities Scotland, Alistair Sim, outlines his worries about losing the Horizon 2020, external deal, which gives European Union money to research projects in Scotland.

He also raises questions about the long-term impact of Brexit for students, staff and intellectual property. He tells the committee that changes to the freedom of movement could affect the 1^% of acemdemic staff who are from the EU and 24,000 EU students studying in Scotland as well as the £156m they spend off campus.

James Withers from Scotland Food and Drink said that the ability to promote Scottish produce was restricted inside the EU.

He said there were 13 Scottish products, including whisky products, which had protection.

However, he said that work could be done post-Brexit to look at better promotion of Scotland's regional food and drink.

Bertie Armstrong from the Scottish Fishermen's Federation said the time was now to focus on the outcome of the vote.

He said negotiations should be about Scottish jobs and the potential for "world leadership" in the fishing industry.

Mr Armstrong added that there was a great opportunity to be the chief partner over a "beautiful piece of maritime real estate".

Hugh Chater from Virgin Money said if Scotland could arrange its own post-Brexit deal, particularly on the issue of passporting, there could be fresh opportunities for Edinburgh's financial sector.

He says the issue is particularly pertinent for the sector in Scotland, which employs more than 100,000 people work.

Image source, Virgin Money

David Frost of the Whisky Association presents a mixed picture. 

He said his sector was used to managing change, but added many things would remain unchanged.

There are two areas of uncertainty, he adds - one is whether there will be access to trade agreements which have preference for EU members.

The second is on the single market - will the UK still have membership, will there be access to it? Mr Frost is keen to find out what negotiations will produce.

• Alastair Sim says it is "vastly important that we get this right". He wants the free movement of "ideas and talent" maintained.
• Gordon Dewar says that uncertainty is a "huge barrier". At the moment we are seeing from Ryanair that they will shift investment from the UK "until they see what happens". These things are "recoverable".
• James Withers says he does not see "uncertainty" ending any time soon. He believes Plan A needs to be seen from the perspective of the food and drink industry. He adds that the big issue for him is the workforce. Mr Withers wants assurances over workers who originate from mainland Europe.
• Clare Slipper says her industry is on "business as usual mode" as you "can't turn farming on and off". She wants to see what is going to happen with CAP in particular.
• Bertie Armstrong says Brexit offers "a once in a lifetime opportunity" for the fishing industry. He makes reference to the cod wars more than four decades ago and the establishment of "equal access to the seas". Mr Armstrong believed that was not beneficial to Scotland. There is a "massive prize" for Scotland and Scottish fishing if the right approach post-Brext is made.

• Clare Slipper, Parliamentary Officer, National Farmers Union Scotland
• Bertie Armstrong, Chief Executive, Scottish Fishermen's Federation
• David Frost, Chief Executive, Scotch Whisky Association
• Alastair Sim, Director, Universities Scotland
• Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Airport Ltd
• Hugh Chater, Director of Banking, Virgin Money
• James Withers, Scotland Food and Drink

On the appointment of Michel Barnier, a former French government minister and ex-European Commission vice-president, as the EU's negotiator on Brexit, the panel asks what the chances are of the UK obtaining its desire to remain in the single market while restricting free movement.

Economic forecaster Greame Roy says: "I wouldn't like his job. It sets the scene for how difficult negotiations are going to be over the next wee while."

Stephen Boyd from the STUC union adds:

Dr Graeme Roy says that fundamentally the single market is built on freedom of labour and crucially freedom of establishment - that is the freedom to set up a new business in another part of the European Union.

He said he was skeptical as to whether you could take out the freedom of movement element and have a system that continues to work for trade and business. Mr Roy added that the key to a good outcome would be the Brexit negotiation process.

Colin Borland of the Federation of Small Business says it's vital that companies can hire the right people without added bureaucracy. 

He adds: "The bottom line is that we cannot be going through the same hassle that a Bangladeshi restaurant having problems with getting chefs" goes through.

Lib Dem MSP Mike Rumbles examines the Fraser of Allander report and highlights that growth in Scotland over the past 12 months was 0.6% compared with 2% across the UK as a whole. 

"We were in trouble for a whole year before the EU vote," he says.

Economic forecaster Graeme Roy acknowledges that the Scottish economy is facing challenges.

Graeme Roy raises questions about the implications for the transfer of powers to Holyrood.

He told the committee: "You either have Barnett or fiscal raising powers.

"CAP (Common Agricultural Policy payments made to farmers) are worth about 18% to Scotland. How would that come into the Scottish government budget? 

"This is a significant thing that needs to be resolved very quickly."

Kenny Richmond, senior director of Scottish Enterprise, says there are a lot of enterprising businesses in Scotland and many will be looking to opportunities in the rest of the UK and beyond. 

Colin Borland says that before the referendum, the situation for businesses was not great in terms of growth. But he said that given the vote outcome companies were trying to adapt.

Graeme Orr says that there is probably a case for fiscal stimulus and there is work to be done to access new markets in this "new world" reality. However, he tells the committee there is a danger of getting into the cycle of saying "everything's gloomy".

Negotiating trade deals takes a long time, says Graeme Roy from the Fraser of Allander Institute. "It will put us [the UK] at a disadvantage," he adds.

Colin Borland from the Federation of Small Business says that his body will commission work to see what different options on free trade agreements are likely.

Mr Boyd says that free trade deals are massively complex.

Stephen Boyd says that on the bureaucracy point, he believes that during the referendum campaign there was an over exaggeration of "EU red tape".

He fears that bureaucracy will increase dramatically once the UK leaves the European Union.