Highlands and Islands businesses are at the forefront of showcasing Scottish food and drink in Singapore as part of two international events.
Eight companies from the region are part of an 18 strong Scottish delegation participating in a trade mission to Singapore on 6-10th April in a bid to crack one of the world’s wealthiest economies.
The Highlands and Islands companies attending are: Highland Bay Seafoods; Highland Smoked Salmon; J Lawries & Sons Smokehouse; Loch Ness Brewery; Mey Selections; Nevis Bakery; Scrabster Seafoods; and Speyside Craft Brewery.
The Scottish party will be exhibiting at Food and Hotel Asia – the region’s leading event which attracts more than 40,000 delegates from the trade industry.
The visit follows on from last month’s World Gourmet Summit in Singapore where Scotland was the official seafood partner. A vast selection of produce from Scrabster based JPL Shellfish and Loch Fyne Oysters were used by leading hotels and restaurants during the two week event which is the annual gastronomic extravaganza showcasing the craftsmanship of the region’s most prestigious chefs.
Steve Bracken, Business Development Manager at Marine Harvest in Fort William attended the summit and took part in various demonstrations and tastings.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) works closely with the businesses attending the trade mission. The organisation’s Iain Sutherland, said: “The trade mission which has been organised alongside the premier industry event is all about helping them to get a better perspective of the market and understand what competitors are doing.”
Scottish Development International (SDI) has also organised a number of showcase events targeting key buyers in the region along with visits to some of Singapore’s leading supermarkets, retail chains and hotel groups to promote Scottish produce to local industry contacts.
Asia has been an increasingly important export market for Scotland’s seafood and salmon in recent years as throughout the region there is a rising demand for the highest quality food and drink products.
Between 2007 and 2012, export figures of Scottish seafood to Asia increased by 247% to a total value of £31,756,000.
Neil McInnes, Head of South East Asia for Scottish Development International (SDI) and based in Singapore says: “Singapore is renowned for its fine dining and eating out culture with more than 6,700 restaurants and food outlets registered in 2012.
“Singapore also boasts the third highest per capita income in the world and as Singapore’s economy has continued to grow, so too have consumer tastes and we’re seeing a big demand for high-end premium products for both the retail and food service sectors.”