The Scottish Government has set aside £25,000 for the development of a Scottish dairy brand to boost the sector.
Farm minister Richard Lochhead made the announcement at the AgriScot event in Edinburgh this week, while formally launching the Scottish Dairy Hub.
The formation of the hub, which aims to act as a one-stop shop for dairy farming information and advice, was one of the recommendations to come out of the government’s dairy review in 2012.
The review – Ambition 2025 – was compiled by Scotland Food and Drink chief executive James Withers, and it called for radical changes in the way the Scottish dairy sector operates.
It set the ambitious target for the Scottish dairy industry to increase milk production by 50% to 1.6billion litres of milk a year by 2025.
It also resulted in the formation of the Scottish Dairy Growth Board, which is headed up by the chief of Carnoustie-based jam and marmalade maker Mackays, Paul Grant.
The government’s £25,000 funding will be used to pay for a consultant to work with Mr Grant and the board to develop a Scottish brand.
“It is important that we work with processors, as well as producers, as we work to strengthen Scotland’s dairy sector,” said Mr Lochhead.
“I fully support the development of a Scottish dairy brand. It is an exciting opportunity for the whole industry that will enable use to explore new market possibilities.”
Mr Grant said the development of a Scottish dairy brand, which would require all milk to be Scottish and the product to be processed in Scotland, was key to getting products into new markets.
The growth board aimed to enter up to four new markets next year, and a further six to 10 in 2016, he said.
“Many of the major processors are European-owned and they already have substantial sales teams in markets around the world and in the EU. In my view, we have to be taking advantage of these sales networks,” added Mr Grant.
One plan of the board is to develop a cheese export strategy for the food service and catering industries, piggybacking on the success of salmon exports.
Mr Grant said: “Scotland has done a brilliant job selling salmon across the world and already the network is set up. We can do exactly the same with cheese.”