Food and drinks firms have demanded urgent support from First Minister Humza Yousaf to help them through “challenging times” as inflation continues to bite.
Leaders at the Food and Drink Federation Scotland have written to Mr Yousaf to make a number of demands in areas from the controversial deposit return scheme to the reformulation for health programme.
Their proposals include ditching proposals for new restrictions on price promotions for junk food, which were consulted on last year.
Federation chief executive David Thomson argued such a move would “further drive up food prices, disproportionately impacting lower income households,”
His letter to the First Minister also demanded the Government “scrap plans for food and drink producers to pay for cleaning up of illegal ground littering in Scotland as part of the wider extended producer responsibility policy”.
And he said the Government must work with drinks firms to “ensure a successful, deposit return scheme that retains the confidence of our industry and the public”.
Mr Thomson insisted all these policies could “impact the viability of our vital food and drink producers” and “need to be reviewed urgently”,
He welcomed the commitment from the First Minister to “reset” the relationship between the Government and business.
In the letter to the First Minister, he outlined the challenges facing the food and drink sector, telling Mr Yousaf: “Food and drink inflation has hit a record high of 19.2% with devastating impacts on Scottish households and businesses.”
Mr Thomson added: “Our food and drink manufacturers are doing everything they can to keep the price of food and drink affordable, absorbing rising input costs where possible.
“Now we need urgent action from the Scottish Government to support a hard-pressed sector.”
Mr Thomson also called on the Scottish Government to continue to fund the reformulation for health programme, saying that this scheme, since its launch in 2019, had “removed hundreds of millions of calories from everyday food and drink”.
Mr Yousaf was told: “Continued support will help more food producers make their food healthier and consumers eat more healthily.”
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “The Scottish Government shares Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland’s concerns about the impact of food inflation on families and communities.
“This is largely the result of Brexit imposed on Scotland by the UK Government and by its economic mismanagement, resulting in unprecedented challenges.
“The cost-of-living crisis it has created is also causing significant pressures on food producers and manufacturers.
“And while we are doing all we can with the resources we have to support businesses, we are also mindful of the need to use powers and available funds to help make Scotland healthier, greener and fairer.
“We will consider the detail of FDF Scotland’s proposals and engage with them to discuss how we can strike the right balance on reform, and help Scotland’s food and drink sector survive the current inflationary crisis.”
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