JAMES CHADWICK

In the last decade, Scotland’s food and drink sector has transformed itself. Buoyed by a revitalised whisky sector, the industry has worked harder than ever before to collaborate, innovate and grow. Trade bodies like Scotland Food & Drink and the Food & Drink Federation have helped to bring together businesses that often regarded each other as rivals, creating a single Scottish food and drink brand that is excelling in the global marketplace.

In 2016, our income from food and drink exports reached a record high of £5.5 billion. It’s a staggering turnaround for a sector that was once in the shadows of heavy industry, manufacturing and services. Growth targets are now routinely smashed, but – after such a prolonged period of optimism and celebration – a cloud of uncertainty has arrived in the form of Brexit.

While the result of the referendum has undoubtedly sent shockwaves throughout the entire business community, Scotland’s food & drink businesses are particularly nervous. The international success of our products clearly relies on ease-of-access to global markets, and the threat of punitive tariffs could create huge barriers, particularly for small producers, who are rapidly becoming the backbone of our industry.

But, while there are many challenges ahead, our resilient and adaptable sector has what it takes to survive and seize some of the opportunities leaving the single market may bring. One such example is our departure from the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy. While the financial aid programmes have provided a lifeline to some, many business leaders have grown to detest the growth in red tape and bureaucracy.

Amid such a climate of uncertainty, the key to long term, sustainable success for Scotland’s food and drink sector, is a focused, bespoke strategy, driven by the food and drink community itself, but with input and support from both the Scottish and UK governments. The reality is that dramatic change is on the horizon and a new vision is required, which recognises the challenges and opportunities, while also tackling long-term issues.

By tapping in to the success of our recent collaborative thinking, the industry’s leaders can create a shared strategy that identifies how we continue barrier-free trade with the European Union, which is Scotland’s biggest export market outside the rest of the UK. Exports have become a crucial economic growth tool for Scotland. The present uncertainty creates new threats, but also opens a space for new thinking on an exporting model, which allows the country’s smaller food and drink firms to leverage existing distribution channels and trade agreements of complementary larger exporters. Additional government support in the form of tax credits to offset the cost of entering new markets, would also strengthen the foundations for businesses to confidently plan for future global growth.

A recent survey for Grant Thornton and the Food & Drink Federation found more than half of food & drink firms questioned said more should be done to create better links between the industry and education bodies, to build a future workforce more equipped for business and industry, as well as tackling any potential shortage of employees, which Brexit could create. While links between business and education have improved, far more could be done to empower our future leaders with essential skills and the knowledge of how we build a more purposeful, sustainable economy in the future.

As a nation, we should be proud of our food and drink businesses. With one clear, optimistic voice, they have risen to the challenge and grown consistently and sustainably. The time has now come for political leaders to help continue that positive story with a new vision built on long term security and continued access to the international marketplace.

James Chadwick is head of food & drink in Scotland at Grant Thornton UK