SCOTLAND’S farmers have warned that the over-reliance on food imports is risking the country’s food security.
As shoppers faced empty supermarket shelves - bereft of certain fresh fruit and vegetables caused by bad weather on the Continent - National Farmers' Union Scotland’s Chief Executive Scott Walker said that it was a serious “wake-up call”.
At the Union’s annual meeting in Glasgow, Mr Walker told delegates that the share of UK-produced food had fallen dramatically over the last 25 years - so much so that the country’s food supplies would have run out by the summer if it relied solely on British food.
“This week has provided a wake up call to all those who do not take food security seriously,” he said.
“UK food security levels have fallen from 75 percent in 1991 to 62 percent now and August 14 marks the day in the year when the British larder would be bare if we fed the nation only on British food.
“Could you imagine the political storm if headlines had been about no beef, no bread or no milk instead of no lettuce or courgettes?
“As we debate our post-Brexit future, the clear message for policymakers is a robust production base is essential, food security is important and supply chains that deliver a fair reward to all are a must.”
A combination of flooding, cold weather and poor light levels in southern Europe is said to have created the "perfect storm" of poor growing conditions.
During the winter months, Spain's south-eastern Murcia region supplies 80 per cent of Europe's fresh produce. But after suffering its heaviest rainfall in 30 years, only 30 per cent of Murcia's growing fields are useable.
The Union also expressed fears over the introduction of post-Brexit trade tariffs.
President Allan Bowie told the meeting that the UK Government needs to be aware of “the danger of tariffs and barriers to trade” and the “decimating impact” they could have.
Mr Bowie said that Brexit would create an opportunity like never before, but it needed common sense and pragmatism to make it work.
“Brexit provides us with the chance to shape and influence a new agricultural policy, one which is designed to work for modern-day Scottish farmers and crofters,” he said.
“Our industry is made up of people from different sectors, backgrounds, genders and ages, and that’s what makes it so special. Our young people and those starting up in farming and crofting are the DNA of our industry. They provide a future for Scottish agriculture.
But he said "far more detail" was needed about how the agricultural sector would be represented in talks over leaving the Single Market and Customs Union.
Meanwhile, consumers will be confronted with rising restaurant prices and an alarming leap in the cost of veggie burgers after extreme weather ravaged crops across Europe.
Alan Clarke, head of European Fixed Income Strategy at Scotiabank, said the drought and freak snow storms that hammered the Mediterranean vegetable harvest could bump up processed food prices, including veggie burgers.
He said the cost of eating out is also likely to rise, as restaurants grapple with sharply higher vegetable costs and a jump in import prices caused by the Brexit-hit pound.
Restaurants and shops have been accused of sparking a lettuce ration in supermarkets by bulk-buying the salad favourite amid a European vegetable shortage.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel