How salmon can drive growth

As Westminster and Holyrood face up to gloomy financial challenges, Salmon Scotland Chief Executive Tavish Scott shares aquaculture’s vision for boosting the economy.

With summer behind us, it’s back to business for politicians at Westminster and Holyrood.

The buckets and spades have been packed away for another year as minds shift to the pressing issues of public finances and spending pressures.

UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Scotland’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison have already outlined a series of budget curbs as they prepare for their respective announcements.

Amid these economic challenges — exacerbated by the lingering effects of Covid, the ongoing cost of living crisis, and inflated costs — there are signs of recovery.

One sector standing out positively is our own — a true bright spot for Scotland’s world-renowned food and drink offer.

Scottish salmon is making giant leaps in global markets. Recent HMRC figures reveal that international sales surged by 41% in the first half of 2024, making Scottish salmon the UK’s largest food export.

This translates to a remarkable £431m in value between January and June, a clear indicator of our sector’s robust performance.

We are seeing notable growth in key markets such as the USA and Asia, with significant gains in China, Taiwan and Singapore.

France remains our largest export destination, with sales nearly doubling to £261m, driven by post-pandemic recovery and tighter supplies last year. If these trends continue, 2024 could well be a record year for Scottish salmon exports.

This success reflects the hard work and dedication of our salmon farmers, a contribution recognised by both the UK and Scottish governments.

Many jobs throughout Scotland are dependent on the salmon sector

Challenges ahead
UK Government Trade Minister Douglas Alexander has praised these achievements, while Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has highlighted the sector’s crucial role in providing well-paid jobs across Scotland’s rural and island communities.

Nonetheless, several significant challenges remain.

The impact of Brexit has been considerable. Since the UK’s departure from the EU in 2020, increased bureaucracy has driven up direct export costs to Europe by £3m annually.

In addition, Brexit is estimated to have resulted in £100m a year in lost sales of Scottish salmon.

While markets in Asia and the United States are growing, the EU remains our most significant export region, accounting for around 60% of our international sales.

The additional red tape and bureaucracy from Brexit continue to hinder our full export potential, despite the considerable efforts and investments made by our farmers.

There is substantial potential to expand further into key European markets such as Spain, Italy and Germany, where demand for nutritious, low-carbon salmon is on the rise.

The reputation and provenance of our salmon provides a strong foundation, but we need more government support to navigate the bureaucracy and streamline export processes.

Encouragingly, Whitehall seems to be taking note.

We have had constructive meetings with Douglas and his ministerial colleagues from the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

We are also looking forward to meeting Scottish MPs at a Westminster reception hosted by Torcuil Crichton, the new Labour MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, who has proven to be a strong advocate for our sector. At this event, we will highlight the economic and jobs contribution our sector makes in every Scottish constituency.

Post-election, there is a clear commitment in London to addressing long-standing issues and reducing trade barriers with the EU.

Our immediate focus is on implementing electronic export health certificates (EHCs) and streamlining veterinary paperwork.

The successful pilot of an electronic EHC system highlights its potential to cut costs and reduce the bureaucracy – and often delays – associated with exporting our fresh produce across the English Channel.

This will require goodwill on both sides of the short straits so Sir Keir Starmer’s enthusiasm for resetting our relationship with Europe and strengthening ties with the EU and his apparent adoption of a more flexible approach to labour movement into the UK will, we hope, enable us to make progress on this issue.

Similarly, Scottish Labour’s support for a more adaptable immigration system is encouraging.

However, any proposed changes must address the specific challenges faced by communities in the Highlands and islands, including updating key worker definitions and clearly signalling that the UK is open to skilled workers from abroad.

We are also excited by Labour’s plans to bolster “Brand Scotland” and recognise food and drink producers as vital to our economic growth.

We look forward to hearing more from Scottish Secretary Ian Murray on how trade missions and the use of embassy and consular staff can be used to strengthen ties with emerging markets and consolidate sales in established ones.

What we need from government
Continued government support for promoting Scottish food and drink on the global stage will enhance prospects for producers like us.

Against the backdrop of a challenging fiscal situation, it is crucial that relevant government departments that enable the economic growth the country needs are properly resourced.

At Holyrood, we have been engaging with the Scottish Government ahead of the First Minister’s Programme for Government to set out our priorities.

This includes much-needed progress toward implementing the recommendations from the independent review into aquaculture by Professor Russel Griggs.

The review outlined a detailed roadmap to better regulation, but it remains far from fully realised.

Reducing bureaucracy and improving domestic government regulation would save costs and support economic growth, driving sustainable development within the blue economy and signalling that Scotland is open for business.

While economic growth remains fragile and impacts public spending, our sector has the potential to play a significant role in recovering from the long-term effects of Covid and Brexit.

Harnessing the potential of salmon farming could turbocharge local communities and contribute £1bn to the UK economy within just a few years.

Tavish Scott is Chief Executive of Salmon Scotland.