€1.2 million grant for Scottish red meat
The Scottish red meat industry is set to benefit from a €1.2 million (£861,000) grant secured from the European Commission by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).
The two-year grant has been approved to support activities to promote Scotch beef PGI and Scotch lamb PGI in Great Britain and five European markets – Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden.
Uel Morton, chief executive of QMS, says, “The key to unlocking this European funding is the protected geographical indication (PGI) status we have for Scotch beef and Scotch lamb, and the quality standards set out in our assurance schemes are essential for us to maintain that PGI status.
“It is important that our industry is aware of this additional value quality assurance brings and continues to support us with our ongoing recruitment campaign to encourage farmers who are not members of our quality assurance schemes to understand their importance to the future of our industry.”
This is the fourth time QMS has been successful in partnering with the European Union to promote Scotland’s quality beef and lamb under the PGI scheme.
The countries in which the promotion activity will be delivered were identified as export priorities following an export strategy review conducted by QMS during 2011.
Cabinet secretary for rural affairs, food and the environment, Richard Lochhead, comments, “Scotch beef PGI and Scotch lamb PGI are rightly renowned for their delicious taste, fantastic quality and unrivalled provenance. We know there is a great global appetite for these protected products and previous EU grants secured by QMS have enabled exports of Scotch beef and lamb to secure a real premium presence in the French and Italian markets.”
