Scottish Govt criticised as suckler sector faces economic clearance
8th July 2025
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) has voiced serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s “continued failure” to deliver a coherent agricultural policy to support Scotland’s red meat sector — particularly its troubled suckler beef producers — in the wake of the QMS ‘Scottish Red Meat Resilience Group’ initiative.
Dr Jason Aldiss, executive director at AIMS, said that while the QMS campaign promotes unity and a public show of commitment to the red meat supply chain, the association argues that without firm policy, financial backing, and practical support from the Scottish Government, such pledges are “little more than political theatre”.
He continued: “Having spent years demanding significant reduction in livestock number to meet their precious climate goals, ministers may claim they do not support the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation to cut livestock numbers, but their actions — or lack thereof — suggest otherwise.
“Not one substantive programme exists to stabilise or rebuild the national beef herd. Instead, years of dithering, weak leadership, and disjointed policy have stripped confidence from producers, who are quietly exiting the sector in droves.”
READ MORE: Scottish industry leaders call to support local red meat over imports
‘Scottish Government must act’
Mr Aldiss added that this is not simply a market adjustment. He called it “an economic clearance — a slow-motion dismantling of the suckler sector by political neglect”.
“The echoes of the Highland Clearances are chilling. This time, it is not the landowners driving people out but a government that has chosen gesture politics over governance.
“The Scottish red meat industry — producers and processors alike — are crying out for leadership. What they get instead are press releases.”
AIMS’ executive director explained that Scotland’s beef processors have made long-term investments in domestic supply, infrastructure, export markets, quality standards and Scotland’s premium beef brand, PGI Scotch Beef.
“They rely on a sustainable flow of cattle, which is now under existential threat. Rather than standing idly by while farmers sell off cows and grasslands fall silent, the Scottish Government must act.
“It must create a framework that offers genuine incentives for producers to maintain and grow herd numbers and ensure that processors have the raw material to continue adding value, providing jobs, feeding the nation and driving growth through exports to high-value markets.
“This is a moment for candour: without urgent, coordinated, and properly funded policy intervention, Scotland will lose a large part of its red meat industry. The silence from Holyrood is not neutrality — it is complicity,” Mr Aldiss concluded.
READ MORE: Consumers prefer home-grown meat rather than its cheaper imported alternatives
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