Meat processing units to close
A continuing decline in cattle and sheep numbers in Scotland has claimed another victim, with farmer-owned agri-businesses ANM announcing the closure of two meat processing units, with the loss of around 50 jobs.
ANM, which owns Aberdeen & Northern Marts, is closing Scotch Premier Meat’s lamb slaughter plant at Dornoch and Highland Country Foods’ meat processing unit at Forres.
The closure of the Forres-based facility is part of the co-operative’s drive to maintain the ‘strongest possible core’ to its business in the face of ‘declining livestock supplies and a highly competitive marketplace’, according to a company statement.
As a result, lamb slaughtering activities will transfer from Dornoch to Scotch Premier’s Inverurie abattoir where a £400,000 (£453,000) investment is being made to upgrade the plant. Most of the Forres business will move to another ANM subsidiary, Charcuterie Continental, at Twechar, near Glasgow.
