The Food and Drink Federation has reported that Scotland's economic recovery is due to strong growth in exports of drinks and seafood products. This translates into an increase of 15% from the previous year of food and drinks exports in 2021. It represents a total of £5.2billion.
According to HM Revenue and Customs, Scottish salmon is the UK's biggest fresh food export. With overseas sales increasing to £614million in 2021 – up 36% compared to 2020. Besides, only marginally below the £618million recorded in 2019.
Firstly, "there is soaring demand for our unrivaled farm-raised Scottish salmon, with exports recovering to near record levels," Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said. "The incredibly encouraging export figures demonstrate the resilience of our industry and are testament to the hard work and dedication of farmers during the Covid pandemic."
Finally, he added: "As well as creating thousands of jobs and opportunities in rural Scotland, farm-raised Scottish salmon is a global success story with high environmental and welfare standards that puts one of the healthiest products we can eat on people's plates."
Fresh salmon accounts for more than £500 million worth of fish sales across the UK retail market annually. This represents 48% of the overall fish market, making it the most valuable single product in this category. More than 50 countries export the product..
The salmon sector adds more than £640 million to the economy every year. At the same time, it spends £370 million, supporting over 3,600 suppliers across Scotland. More than 2,500 people are directly employed in salmon farming throughout the country.
In addition to this, earlier this year we informed Scottish producers reached 30 years holding "Label Rouge" quality mark.