Scottish food and drink exports have reached a record high of more than £8 billion

EXPORTS of Scottish food and drink have hit a record export according to the latest figures published by HMRC, it was £8bn in 2022.

Export value Scottish cuisine and drinks to grow by £1.9bn in 2021, up 30.6% to surpass pre-Covid levels.

Thanks to strong growth, particularly in whiskey but also in other categories such as cereals, these figures demonstrate the appetite for Scotch products worldwide.

This is despite another challenging year for the industry with cost pressures, skills shortages and inflation.

Scottish food exports are 8.1% above 2019’s pre-Covid peak, showing a faster recovery than producers in the rest of the UK, which remains at -1% compared to 2019.

Scotch whiskey exports were up 37.2% on the previous year to £1.7bn.

This increase in value comes mainly from Asia and Oceania – particularly Singapore, India and Taiwan – but the United States remains its largest national market.

Countryside Minister Mairi Gudgeon said: “This is a testament to the quality, innovation and skill shown by everyone working in the industry across Scotland.

“Statistics show that food exports have risen to an all-time high of £1.9 billion – up 12.8% on 2021 – which is a fantastic achievement for our food sector.

“The food and drink industry is vital to Scotland. It creates jobs, wealth and helps attract people to the country by promoting our products around the world.”

Iain Baxter, CEO of the company Food and drink of Scotlandmember of the Scottish Government’s Board of Trade and the UK Government’s Food and Drink Export Council, said:

“The latest export figures are a welcome reason for optimism amid challenging trading conditions for our industry.

“Scotch whiskey and Scottish seafood are world-renowned sectors with a global reputation for quality.

“Today’s figures show the Scottish basket and the success we are seeing in overseas markets with sectors such as grains and meat delivering significant growth in exports.

“Few countries have the breadth of products that Scotland offers and we need to continue to use the strength of our biggest sectors to help small ones grow.”