Question reference: S5W-30782
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 17 July 2020
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Current status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 14 August 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it will take to promote local food production following the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer
Through the Ambition 2030 Food & Drink Industry Strategy, launched in 2017 by the First Minister, the Scottish Government has been working in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink and key sectoral trade bodies to sell more fresh, quality Scottish produce to people in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
With many food and drink businesses losing their traditional foodservice or export markets as result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have supported Scotland Food & Drink to develop an online directory to help connect companies with consumers and other businesses throughout Scotland. Launched in May, the supportlocal.scot website has over 300 companies listed and it is expected that this directory will continue long term to help direct consumers and businesses to Scottish food and drink producers, wholesalers and foodservice companies.
We have also asked all supermarkets in the UK to rise to the occasion in order to use their collective consumer reach to promote Scottish and capitalise on a golden opportunity to capture public imagination around the importance of supporting local producers. We are currently engaging with retailers on ways to help the food and drink industry recover and grow with a focus on sourcing more Scottish produce and encouraging consumers to buy fresh, local produce.
The Scotland Food & Drink partnership is also developing a COVID-19 recovery plan for the sector which will include specific actions to further stimulate local sourcing. Further detail will become available on this once the plan is finalised.