November 20, 2012

Scotland's dairy producers eye China market

Rural affairs secretary, Richard Lochhead, and Scottish Development International Chief Executive Anne MacColl said they were 'optimistic' over a future deal with dairy producers. 

Good quality dairy produce such as UHT milk, cheese and butter are in extremely high demand in China. There is also a huge market for imported baby milk formula, which is another area Scottish companies are keen to explore further.

Mr Lochhead says, "As this trade mission has shown, the Chinese market offers a massive and very exciting opportunity for Scotland's dairy sector.

"While it won't happen overnight, I hope that in the relatively near future these initial talks will lead to Scottish dairy produce appearing on shop shelves in China for the very first time. This is a very timely opportunity that will hopefully give a new lease of life to our dairy sector."

Graham's Dairies Managing Director, Robert Graham, added: "The demand in China for value-added milk products is simply enormous and the company we met today are very keen for Scottish producers to enter the market.

"Graham's are a family business and we have a reputation in the home market for producing high quality dairy goods, but until now we have never entered the export market."

Anne MacColl said Scottish food and drink exports to China were up 44% last year. 

Seafood, whisky and premium grocery items such as shortbread and jams are all in high demand. However, no dairy products are currently sold in China.