Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead has agreed to work with the farming industry to explore what support the Scottish Government can offer to help address immediate challenges facing the dairy sector.
Following yesterday's dairy summit at the Scottish Parliament, the Cabinet Secretary will take stock of the issues raised - including a request by NFU Scotland to support the establishment of an industry-led dairy task force involving the banking sector, and to support calls for a UK-wide review of the sector's voluntary code of practice to encourage greater uptake.
The meeting, which was attended by representatives from the Scottish Government, NFUS, processing and retail sectors, looked at what more can be done to help the sector.
Mr Lochhead said: "I will absolutely take on board the issues raised during today's meeting and will discuss these in further detail with my officials. It is clear we must work together to come up with a short-term plan. We are doing what we can to develop Scottish solution, but it is clear that action is also needed at UK level.
"In the long-term, following today's publication of Scotland Food & Drink's study into the origin of cheddar cheese and butter in Scottish supermarkets, I would like to see the sales of Scottish cheddar cheese double across the UK over the next five years - if the industry and retailers work together we can make this a reality.
"Currently Scottish cheddar cheese is worth 5.8 per cent of the market - which is around £82m - by upping sales to 11 per cent we will plough an extra £82m into the sector. I believe that if consumers are aware a product is Scottish, they will be more likely to support their local producers and buy it - so I see a great opportunity here for dairy processors to look at the ways they market their products and encourage further sales of home-grown produce."
* Meanwhile the Single Application Form window is now open for applications.
NFU Scotland director of policy Jonnie Hall commented; "Whilst most people will be focussing on 2015 payments and when they will arrive in their bank accounts, it is equally important that individuals do not lose sight of the fact that they have to apply to the 2016 schemes such as basic payments and less favoured areas support before the window closes on Monday, May 16th. We would encourage farmers and crofters to make this a priority and apply online where possible.
"In light of the huge challenges experienced by farmers, crofters and agents in 2015, we've been working with Scottish Government to instigate a number of improvements to the performance and functionality of the IT system. How effective these changes will be remains to be seen."
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