Scots push quality in Cologne meat campaign

Scottish red meat exporting companies are out in force this week at the massive Anuga food fair in Cologne. Eight companies will use the Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) stand as their base for meeting customers at the show, which attracts around about 150,000 trade-only visitors from 190 countries.

Commenting on the week ahead, QMS head of marketing Laurent Vernet said: “Every major meat exporter in the world is in Cologne this week to show buyers why their products are the best, so it’s critical for us to have a presence at the show to highlight and explain what makes Scotch beef and Scotch lamb different and desirable to their customers.”

He added that the sheer number of products in the meat hall alone at the show emphasised the importance of meat in the food world. But it also showed the potential for growth with both a continuing increase in worldwide consumption and growth in the number of potential consumers.

The sales pitch for Scottish exporters is very much based on the quality end of the market, with Vernet admitting that Scotland was “certainly not the biggest producers in the world”. He said: “That’s why we have to compete in the quality rather than commodity sector. But the reputation of our products throughout the world puts us in a good position to compete.”

Scottish rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead will visit the stand later today and he is expected to announce that beef and lamb exports reached new peaks last year.