Plenary, 10 Nov 2005

Meeting date: Thursday, November 10, 2005

Official Report 699KB pdf

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Scottish Food Fortnight

The final item of business today is a members' business debate on motion S2M-3242, in the name of Alex Johnstone, on Scottish food fortnight. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.

Motion debated,

That the Parliament congratulates the organisers of Scottish Food Fortnight which seeks to reconnect the people of Scotland with their countryside through the continuing promotion of high quality local produce to local people; recognises the importance of food production to the rural economy and supports efforts to promote rural enterprise and diversification of small businesses; notes the nutritional value of quality local fresh produce and the environmental benefits of reducing transport costs as promoted by Scottish Food Fortnight, and believes that the Scottish Executive should take measures to increase the use of local, regional and Scottish produce by organisations such as schools and hospitals.

The farmers market came to Holyrood some five weeks ago with representatives of food producers from all over Scotland. Stalls were set up in the garden lobby and members of the Scottish Parliament were invited to go along, try the wares and find out more about the need to promote good-quality Scottish food.

Those who took the trouble to count tell me that as many as 60 MSPs attended that event—they did not attend the whole event, but they were there at some point. When we consider the turnout of MSPs for some events, 60 is an extraordinary number. The quality of the food was therefore all the more important—those who went along enjoyed high-quality food and drink. I am not sure whether it is within the rules, but I think that some business was done that night and that some food and drink left in plastic carrier bags.

The object of Scottish food fortnight is to promote Scottish food. The fortnight ran from 17 September to 2 October. The event on 5 October marked the end of activities. During the fortnight, attempts were made to promote good-quality Scottish food at farmers markets all over Scotland. Good-quality Scottish products were also promoted at a range of restaurants and local shops throughout the country.

We must take the opportunity to consider the aims of Scottish food fortnight. Some five weeks later, it is a good time to reflect on the priorities that the fortnight was designed to promote. One main object was to nurture a renaissance in the pleasures of preparing and eating locally produced food and drink. Another aim was to help the flow of readily available low-fat healthy food to enter the Scottish diet. Locally produced materials fit into that category because they are, of course, not processed as other foods are.

Other objects of Scottish food fortnight were to increase awareness that Scottish food is of the highest quality and meets the most stringent safety standards and to build awareness that buying Scottish food and drink in season and in particular when produced in small volumes by speciality producers will result in large-scale support for farms, small rural businesses and independent shops.

Another object of the fortnight was to highlight the ridiculous number of food miles that our food runs up. By strengthening local food networks, the shortest possible chain can be created between producer and consumer. One intent was to preserve local independent retailing and catering, by encouraging Scottish people and visitors to Scotland to buy regional speciality food and drink from small shops, pubs, hotels and restaurants. Another aim was to promote the goodness of Scottish game through endorsement of the new Scottish game marketing initiative.

More than 100 food businesses from throughout Scotland took part in the fortnight and 23 farmers markets were held in the two weeks. The average footfall per market was 4,000, which is very encouraging. As I said, the farmers market in Holyrood was a success. With speeches from Tony Andrews, the chairman of the Scottish Countryside Alliance Educational Trust, who helped to organise the food fortnight, and from Lady Claire Macdonald, who spoke about the quality of Scottish products, it was obvious that support came from across the board.

The farmers market movement in Scotland dates back to 1999. In the past six years, the number of markets has grown to more than 60. The estimated turnover for farmers markets is about £20 million. Buying local food from local producers and retailers puts more money back into the local economy than does buying the equivalent goods from supermarkets. Statistics suggest that every £10 that is spent locally benefits the local economy to the tune of £25 when it is multiplied up, whereas it is worth just £14 when spent in a supermarket. That is because vibrant local shops keep people in the area, which makes the local petrol station, bank and other facilities more viable. Also, local retailers employ local people, who will then spend their wages locally, which has a multiplier effect.

Another issue that it is necessary to highlight is that we sometimes misunderstand how the benefits of local products can be exploited. There are those who will argue in favour of organic products, for example. Although there is no reason why organic products cannot be quality local products, that is by no means guaranteed; organic products on our supermarket shelves can quite often be guilty of having travelled as many food miles as any other product.

Before Alex Johnstone reaches the end of his remarks, could he tell us whether he enjoys Scottish food and, if so, in what quantities?

Who is he trying to kid?

As a farmer, I know just how high the quality of Scottish food can be. Scottish food fortnight demonstrated to more than 90,000 visitors at 23 farmers markets the quality that can be provided.

By purchasing local food from local producers, the customer is ploughing back money into their local community, which helps to provide a vibrant shopping experience in retail outlets employing local people. It is not just up to the individual consumer to do that, however. Local authorities and health boards enjoy substantial buying power and could make a huge positive difference not only to their local economy, but to the quality of the food that they serve to patients and children. More could be done to promote to those institutions the benefits of using locally produced food. Doing so need not cost any more than the current arrangements, but the Scottish Executive might well need to intervene to force the hand of health boards and education authorities.

I congratulate Alex Johnstone on a motion that is close to my heart. Before Murdo Fraser leaves, I should tell him that I have a picture of a certain MSP—at 8.30 am in our canteen—deeply absorbed in a large plate of bacon, black pudding, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and hash, delightfully dismissive of the fresh fruit shelf. It is indeed appropriate that we are debating Alex Johnstone's motion tonight.

Where to begin? The seared scallops of Kirkwall—I will give members the recipe later—and the langoustines of Shapinsay, which I savoured this summer, still make me salivate. Highland Park, MacAllan and Bladnoch whisky are all, unfortunately, good friends. The Broughton beers in my fridge here are beautifully labelled and are also local to the Scottish Borders. The Selkirk bannock, which must be eaten warm with the butter soaking into it. Peebles cake. The vegetarian sausages that are produced by Wicken Fen, where I did my business exchange and, as hot sausages accelerated past me and draped themselves across my wellingtoned feet, shouted the predictable words, "Maureen, shut the machine off!" The good, simple meat from the butcher near my local Gala office, including loin pork flavoured with apple and cinnamon, peppered steaks and butchers steak pie. I hope that members are getting hungry, because I am.

There is good Scots food all around us. Well, it is almost all around us—everywhere but in this building. I appreciate the constraints of the Sodexho contract, but why cannot the Parliament have themed weeks—perhaps starting in the members dining room—featuring good Scottish food from the Borders, the Highlands, the Islands, the west and the east? That way, our many visitors could literally get their teeth into it. At the moment, only the cheese board features Scottish food. That is a missed opportunity. My suggestion would benefit not only our producers but, rightly, this Parliament, which would be showcasing those culinary delights. That would enhance our position after the bad publicity.

Although I have talked so much about food, I have to advise the chamber that I will be unable to stay until the end of the debate—even if it has good recipes in it—because the Lancastria family members who are having an exhibition in the Parliament today are waiting to eat, as am I.

Again, I congratulate Alex Johnstone. I cannot think of a better man to make a speech on Scottish food, although there was a little bit of irony in his talking about healthy eating: I say no more. As I have made a rather light-hearted but partly serious speech, I also congratulate Enric Miralles, who put my office so far from the chamber that at least I take lots of exercise when I go to and from the chamber after I have eaten my food.

I welcome the motion; indeed, I can say that Alex Johnstone has lodged a motion that I entirely support. I echo his congratulations to all those who are involved in Scottish food fortnight and thank the Scottish Countryside Alliance for helping me to obtain helpful facts and figures about food production.

The Scottish food fortnight and those who have organised it are part of a wider movement that encourages eating more local food and reclaiming our food culture and traditions. That movement shows itself in various ways—the farmers markets, which Alex Johnstone mentioned, are part of it, as is the slow food movement. I will not do what Christine Grahame did and give a list of recipes, but I will say that one of the best events to which I have been invited as a member of the Scottish Parliament was the founding congress of Slow Food UK, which took place at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on Skye a couple of months ago. I will not tell members about everything that we ate there, because I could not list everything. The slow food movement is very much about local, seasonal food and being respectful of local food cultures and traditions. Its aims can be satisfied only by local growers producing for local markets. Seasonality and variables, which are anathema to the big retailers, are involved.

I was glad that the motion focused on local food for local consumption. I have nothing against our quality products being exported to niche markets elsewhere—it is important that that is recognised—but the local market must be the principal outlet.

The motion lays out clearly the advantages of local production. That the whole production process should take place locally and should be truly local is important. For example, if lamb from Skye must go to Dingwall to be slaughtered and must then come back to Skye to be processed and cooked, the localness of the process will be diluted, as it will be if lamb from Islay must go to Paisley and then go back to Islay. It is important that the whole food production chain, including abattoirs—which I have spoken about in the chamber previously—should be local.

There is a general move towards producing food locally. The Highlands and Islands local food network, which is supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, links producers with interested consumers and links up community-supported agriculture projects in which people buy in advance whatever a farm or grower produces. The aim is to have 50 community-supported agricultural-type businesses in the Highlands and Islands. There is a definite move towards such food marketing and production becoming more mainstream.

The other week, I organised a meeting in Assynt that brought together local food producers and potential consumers, such as hotels. A lot of good came out of that meeting.

The motion mentions the crucial issue of public procurement, which I want to talk a little bit about. The objective of the food for life project, which is aimed at schools, is to have 70 per cent fresh produce—50 per cent is to be local and 30 per cent is to be organic. The project, which is run by the Soil Association, has been piloted in a couple of schools. So much demand exists that there is talk of taking on another co-ordinator to see the project through. The demand and the producers who want to produce for the project are out there.

As supermarkets have become our main producers—80 per cent of our food is currently sold through our supermarkets—our consumption of vegetables has steadily decreased. There are issues that we can tackle. We can eat more healthy locally produced food and the food chain can be shortened. There are many reasons—such as local employment and environmental reasons to do with transport and food miles—for shortening the food chain, for putting people more in touch with the food that they consume and for not overregulating small producers with regulations that are meant for large factories and are not applicable to small producers.

I congratulate Alex Johnstone on securing the debate. It is highly appropriate that Alex—the Parliament's very own Desperate Dan—is holding a debate on food. As we all know, he complained to the Parliament's canteen staff about their not stocking enough pies. I think that the problem has now been fixed, as there are now always plenty of pies in the canteen. I had thought that he might lodge a motion calling for a Scottish pie fortnight—perhaps that is the next one in the pipeline.

Next year.

The farmers market that was held here in the Parliament a few weeks ago was excellent. I commend the macaroon bars, which were the best I had tasted in my life; I bought some to take back to my family. That was a very good initiative.

Apart from the minister, there are no Labour or Liberal Democrat members here for the debate. That is a pity, given the importance of the food sector to Scotland—it employs 53,000 people, which accounts for 2 per cent of employment in Scotland. Our food sector does an excellent job in promoting Scotland overseas. We should think of all the products on shelves around the world that are produced in Scotland. They include shellfish, salmon, shortbread, beef and many others.

I want to raise with the minister the issue of how successful the Irish are when it comes to exporting food. We are relatively successful in Scotland but, by looking at how Ireland does things, perhaps we can learn some lessons and become even more successful. Bord Bia—the Irish Food Board—has offices in Amsterdam, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Moscow, Milan and Paris, as well as its headquarters in Dublin. It gets a Government budget of €25 million to look for new export markets for food and to promote Irish food overseas. Would the minister be willing to investigate the possibility of introducing such an initiative in Scotland, or at least to learn lessons from how the Irish promote food overseas? It might be very worth while to do so.

Food security should come on to the agenda in Scotland. Food producers would like that to happen, but is difficult to pin down ministers on whether they think that food security is an important thing for Scotland. It could help to increase food production and improve the sales of locally produced food in Scotland, not just sales in other markets. It could cut down total food miles, which would be good for cutting costs and would possibly bring down the prices of some foods. That would also be good for the environment, as less transportation and fuel would be required. Food security coming on to the agenda would be especially welcome in the farming sector, as well as the food sector in general.

I turn to farmers and fishermen. I represent Grampian, whose food sector is one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable, in the whole of Scotland. The sector is celebrated every year at the taste of Grampian event at Thainstone, near Inverurie. I mention farming and fishing because of the pressure that both industries are under. Our farmers have recently been protesting at the unfair deal that they get from supermarkets in Scotland. I hope that ministers can intervene and set up an official forum in which farmers could speak regularly to the supermarkets; the forum could support farmers' calls for an ombudsman to look into the trade issues between the food producers and the supermarkets. The farmers have been calling on the Scottish Parliament's Environment and Rural Development Committee to conduct an investigation, and I hope that the committee's members will support that.

Fish is a very healthy food but, unfortunately, not enough of it is eaten in this country. It was disgraceful that two Liberal Democrat MPs, Norman Baker and Dan Rogerson, tabled a motion in the House of Commons calling for haddock to be removed from supermarket shelves. That is an utter disgrace, given that haddock is the stock that is at its healthiest. The stock was described even by European scientists as robust and healthy. For those two MPs to be so ignorant as to table a motion—even though they now say that they regret doing so—and not to withdraw it is terrible. It sends out the wrong message entirely.

Skills issues are very important to the food industry. Many foreign workers are now relied upon to supply the necessary skills for the industry and they play a very valuable role. We should look to increase the level of skills in the food sector, as well as cutting down on transport costs.

This is a good opportunity, which I welcome, to celebrate Scotland's food industry.

I welcome Alex Johnstone's motion. I will not make any further comments—he is lovely just the way he is.

I congratulate both Alex Johnstone and the Countryside Alliance on what was an amazing evening. The range of food that was on display in the garden lobby at the recent event was quite spectacular and its quality was amazing. In particular, the event gave people the opportunity to have tasters. I have to confess that I tasted oysters for the first time. I was not quite certain about them. They were pleasant, but I do not know whether they are worth the amount of money for which they are usually sold. The whole point is that the event gave me an opportunity, which is what is lacking nowadays. People are not adventurous with their food and are not given the chance to taste the high-quality food that Scotland can offer.

The event was an amazing opportunity and needs to be replicated throughout Scotland in the way that farmers markets are, or to an even greater extent. We need to celebrate Scottish food throughout our hotel industry, hospitals and schools. We need to be proud of the fact that we are producing a first-rate commodity that has so many added benefits. Much more emphasis needs to be placed on that.

The fact that nowadays people spend on average just 10 per cent of their income on food whereas, I gather, in the 1970s they spent something like 25 per cent on it shows what little value we put on food. We need to address that issue, because of the knock-on effects.

My colleague Eleanor Scott mentioned knock-on effects in relation to local procurement. I refer to the knock-on effects on farming. We are not getting the local connection with what people are eating; people are not aware of where their food comes from. With such a lack of connection, there is no awareness; people are not looking at labels and choosing to buy from Scotland. Somehow or other we need to reintroduce the culture of food. Claire Macdonald is a great exponent of that. She uses local, quality ingredients in her recipes.

By buying locally we support local farmers and, by supporting local farmers, we support local businesses. Alex Johnstone and I know from our farming backgrounds that when we buy machinery parts and the various nuts and bolts that we need to support the farm business, we buy them locally. That helps to keep the money in the community and supports local businesses. It is a vital, unseen part of the whole food chain.

I echo Richard Lochhead's comments about food security. We need to take that far more seriously. I am glad that it has come up the agenda. We need to focus on our ability to grow our own food, not just because we are growing such good food, which is helping to keep disease out of the country, but because reducing food miles is vital in addressing climate change.

There are very few members in the chamber, unfortunately, so I am probably preaching to the converted, but when members go to buy food, they should read the label and put down the stuff that comes from abroad and pick up the equivalent that comes from Scotland.

This market day is wearing late, but the subject being discussed makes the debate worth while. I welcome the debate, which is all about food quality, standards and more sustainable and sensible use of economic resources.

Good food means good health. I support absolutely Scottish food fortnight's promotion of the greater use of local produce to create local employment and its encouragement of higher standards of husbandry, animal welfare and ingredients in food production.

Having long supported a fair deal campaign for food producers abroad, I believe that we need a similar campaign for Scottish farmers and our fishing industry. Local farmers markets, which have been reintroduced into Scotland, have reminded customers exactly what quality food tastes like and has allowed farmers direct connection with customers, along with a better price for their product. In contrast, Scotland's dairy industry faces a financial crisis, in spite of a promised fairer deal from supermarkets. Scotland's quality beef industry is being undercut by a cheap, foreign imports policy. The fair trade campaign, which ensures direct payment and benefit to primary producers abroad, should also be applied to our own Scots farming industry to provide a just and fair return for its efforts.

Thankfully, there is now a rising in Scotland—a positive consumer reaction at a local level, with the growth of locally produced quality foods and local business opportunities. Basic, well-produced foodstuffs that are suited to local climates, that involve minimal transportation and that are sourced from trusted and known sources of production are now creating local employment and local economic benefit. I have seen at first hand the growth of this Scottish niche market and its potential for local and national economic development and services.

In Angus, there is the annual Forfar food festival at Glamis castle. When I was there, I met representatives of the world gathering of the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society in what was a showcase of good, wholesome Angus food production and sales. The Arbroath seafest celebration is attracting massive crowds. Farmers markets are now well established in Arbroath, Forfar and Montrose, and there are more to come. Letham village has its craft fair and Victorian market. The Arbroath smokie now has European official status, and a locally produced smokie tartan, and I thoroughly recommend both.

The motion seeks to get local authorities involved. I assure Alex Johnstone that Angus Council is already involved. It has introduced a berry day in Angus schools, as part of the national hungry for success programme, supporting healthy eating in schools with superb Angus soft fruits on every school menu. Our local factories produce quality fish and fruit products, and we have a magnificent array of restaurants with locally produced foods on their menus. Near where I live, in Carmyllie, the Milton Haugh farm shop has grown from small beginnings into a substantial, thriving business that is based on quality and attracting customers in search of good, quality-assured wholesome meals and foodstuffs. There is now an established and growing quality-foods system that is dedicated to the appreciation of genuine taste and quality, which is re-educating a generation about what food should taste like. Such local products, the origins of which are known, lead to greater trust and appreciation by consumers.

The debate is about an opportunity to meet a growing demand for good food that is quality assured and locally produced and which sustains local employment and economic well-being. I congratulate this new development and wish it all success as an important part of improving the quality of life and reminding us that good food does, indeed, mean good health.

For those of us who live in rural Scotland, the ability to access farmers markets is an extraordinary privilege and is very much an every-weekend occurrence, certainly in my constituency. It was, therefore, helpful and to be welcomed that a farmers market came to the Parliament. That allowed members from other parts of the country—although there are several urban farmers markets—to see the benefits of access to the farmers market approach. In that respect, the market was very successful.

I was delighted that so many different outlets took part in the event. Two ventures from my constituency were involved: Bruce's of Balmyle, which specialises in high-quality soft fruit and has several established and successful quality markets for its products; and the Tombuie Smokehouse, from Aberfeldy. It was great that members from around the country had the opportunity to sample the excellent produce that those of us who live in close proximity to those ventures are able to access weekly. I congratulate Alex Johnstone on bringing the issue for debate in Parliament tonight, which gives us the opportunity to share some of the issues on a wider platform.

While representing my constituency, I have seen a number of such ventures develop over the years. I had the privilege of launching the Atholl Glens marketing initiative, which involved bringing together about eight organic meat producers in the highland Perthshire area to do their marketing under the single Atholl Glens umbrella. That has put together the strength of their produce with simple marketing materials, which allows them to trade directly with consumers.

That model, which is being followed increasingly in other parts of the country, allows producers to take much more control of their interests and businesses instead of their becoming entirely dependent on supermarkets purchasing their products. Supermarkets expect the producers to carry 100 per cent of the risk in production but allow them to share in only a small proportion of the return on that risk. Ventures such as the one that I described are successful in direct promotion of produce from the point of production directly to the consumer.

My colleague Mr Welsh mentioned the Forfar food fest, which has been enormously successful in gathering together a number of different food outlets from the Angus community. When I attended the Forfar food fest this year, I was pleased that education about many aspects of food production was available to my children. I never thought that I would live to see the day when my children would be confident enough to get past the visual obstacles of Arbroath smokies and to eat them, but when they saw them being expertly prepared, they consumed them—much to my chagrin because I did not get my fair share. Educating our children about preparation of our food direct from the point of supply is important and gives our young people a greater appreciation and understanding of the quality issues that are involved.

My final point concerns the infrastructure that supports the farmers market industry and its producers. We must attend to the points that were made by Shiona Baird and Eleanor Scott about the availability of local slaughterhouses in order to ensure that produce does not have to travel ludicrous distances to reach the marketplace. It is absolutely ludicrous that livestock is transported to Wales to be slaughtered only to return to Scotland. It is damaging to the environment and it undermines the quality of the produce. This debate helps us to focus on such issues. I look forward to hearing what the minister has to say.

The debate highlights the important work of the Scottish food fortnight and recognises the important part that food production plays in sustaining rural economies and communities. I thank Alex Johnstone for giving us all the opportunity to speak about the importance of that to Scotland.

Scottish food fortnight encourages the supply of fresh local produce by bringing together local producers and consumers and providing individuals with recipes and nutritional information on locally produced food.

Several members referred to the food chain. We are keen to see primary producers and the food and drink industry in Scotland benefit from working more closely together. We recognise the benefits of shortening the supply chain between producer and consumer by schemes that encourage local producers to supply local consumers and which encourage local consumers to seek out local produce. Many members here tonight, including Eleanor Scott and John Swinney, are involved in such initiatives in their areas.

The Executive's food grant schemes have delivered £56 million of grant assistance to food businesses in the past four years. The schemes aim to increase the amount of Scottish produce. Many such projects make a direct link between producers and local outlets such as farmers markets, farm shops and other retailers.

Assistance has also been given under the farm business development schemes. To date, we have approved grant of some £16 million, which has helped farming families to develop projects that are worth about £75 million to the Scottish economy. Many projects reflect the desire to promote local produce. The grant schemes have assisted the growth of new food businesses in rural areas. That has wider benefits in maintaining communities by, for example, sustaining local shops and services that enhance the quality of rural life.

In some cases, wider benefits are provided, such as in food tourism. VisitScotland estimates that a quarter of the £4 billion of tourism spend in Scotland is on food and drink. It recently launched the EatScotland scheme to enhance Scotland's reputation as a good food destination and to raise standards of food service. The food service sector is itself a fast-growing market that provides opportunities for Scottish food producers.

Members have mentioned public procurement. We want very much to encourage use of local food in schools, hospitals and other public services and we have produced guidelines on public sector procurement to encourage public bodies to ensure that suppliers meet farm assurance standards so that they can secure local, fresh and seasonal produce that is of high nutritional quality. Indeed, Eleanor Scott highlighted some excellent work in the Highlands and Islands, and we have introduced a pilot project in Ayrshire.

We want Scottish producers to get a fair chance to compete for public contracts, so we have commissioned research into local sourcing in public sector food procurement to identify how to overcome the constraints that are faced by purchasers and producers, and how to enhance incentives. The people who award public contracts are not allowed to discriminate between products purely on the basis of country of origin. Scottish suppliers must compete on an equal footing with others; however, they have a competitive opportunity when it comes to quality, value, freshness and reliability of supply. The priority is to ensure that Scottish suppliers are well informed about their opportunities to compete to supply public service customers.

On the requirement for producers to compete on a level playing field, is not it important for the Government to insist on the same standards of quality for produce both from this country and from abroad to guarantee that Scottish producers are not undermined by producers from abroad who compete simply on price?

Yes—the definition of best value includes quality. In that respect, local authorities should follow the Executive guidelines as closely as possible. However, such decisions are for local authorities, which is why initiatives such as the provision of locally sourced food for schools in the Highlands and Islands and in Ayrshire are hugely important. Authorities are taking a great deal of interest in the process and I think that we are taking some positive strides. Indeed, it would be interesting to have another debate on those initiatives.

Alex Johnstone and other members pointed out the importance of food miles. Of course, sourcing food locally has a positive effect by reducing food miles. After all, the transportation of food—and other products—is a source of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Although food will continue to be transported, the impact of its transportation can be reduced by efficient use of transport. There are already some good examples of work on that.

Another aspect of food that receives public attention is health. People, especially in Scotland, are becoming much more conscious of the need for a healthy diet. In fact, 63 per cent of people are now aware of the message that they should eat five pieces of fruit and vegetables a day, compared with 19 per cent in 1996. They might be aware of the message, but it is a somewhat harder challenge to change their behaviour. I also point out that access to locally sourced healthy produce is fundamental to the Executive's policy on healthy eating and that local produce features throughout our action plan on food and health.

Although local food plays an important part in the spectrum of food that is available to the public, we need to recognise that consumers will continue to shop at supermarkets and other outlets that provide a wide range of goods at competitive prices. We want retailers in Scotland and throughout the United Kingdom to stock as much Scottish produce as possible. However, no matter how successful our local producers are, we need to bring some foods into Scotland if we are to eat more fruit and vegetables for the sake of our health, and if we want to enjoy a wider variety than can be provided by home-grown produce. That said, I am very much aware of the importance of the slow food movement.

On supermarkets, we acknowledge what members have said about farmers' and producers' concerns over farm-gate prices. In our regular ministerial meetings with major retailers, we will continue to emphasise the seriousness with which we view the sustainable food chain and the fact that healthy trading relationships between suppliers and retailers are vital.

We want to give consumers the opportunity to enjoy Scottish produce. Indeed, Richard Lochhead highlighted the importance of marketing such produce abroad. We do that energetically, but we are always open to suggestions as to how we can do it better.

I congratulate the organisers of Scottish food fortnight, and I confirm that the Executive acknowledges the importance of food production to the rural economy. We support provision of fresh local produce through a wide range of outlets. We must also ensure that Scottish producers and processors have the opportunity to grow their businesses by supplying domestic and international markets.

Meeting closed at 17:45.