'Record' year for Scotland's food and drink sector

Scotland's food and drink sector generated a record annual turnover of £14.4bn in 2014, new figures showed.

The Scottish government said the food manufacturing sector in Scotland increased at nearly twice the rate of the UK average from 2008 to 2014.

In that period, the government said it had increased by 43%.

Ministers said the figures showed the sector was making good progress towards its 2017 target of £16.5bn. It has been identified as a growth sector.

The industry spans the activities of agriculture, fishing and aquaculture, food manufacturing and drink manufacturing.

'Major turnaround'

The newly-published data is contained in a briefing from the office of the chief economic adviser and is published on the Scottish government website.

It states: "Turnover in the food and drink growth sector stood at £14.4bn in 2014, up from £14bn in 2013 - representing an increase of 2.8% over the year (nominal terms).

"Gross Value Added in the food and drink growth sector stood at £5.3bn in 2014, up by 5.1% on 2013 (nominal terms)."

Scotland Food and Drink chief executive James Withers said: "These are great figures and testament to a transformation in food and drink activity in Scotland over the last few years.

"The sector is not without challenges and uncertainty, but for a sector whose growth was stagnant a few years ago, this has been a major turnaround.

"The Scottish industry is now being recognised internationally for how it has embraced collaboration to grow, forging a stronger global reputation for our products."

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: "The food and drink sector continues to be one of our most successful and that success shows no sign of slowing down.

"The industry is vital to Scotland - it creates jobs and wealth, impacts on health and sustainability, and helps attract people to the country by promoting our food and drink around the globe.

"This record turnover means that the sector is making good progress towards meeting the 2017 target of £16.5 billion, which has been set by Scotland Food and Drink."