THE Scottish lamb trade is to receive a promotional boost as the Scotch Quality Beef and Lamb Association seeks to redress the balance which, in the wake of the BSE crisis, has been tilted in favour of beef.
Association chairman John Ross, said he was now keen to do for Specially Selected Scotch Lamb what had been done for beef where the quality product with the Scotch label could earn a premium of about 12p a kilo over other UK beef.
''We want to achieve similar success with lamb but we have to recognise factors like the downward trend in UK consumption, seasonality of production and increasing competition from other countries,'' he said.
Speaking at a news conference in Perth, Brian Simpson, chief executive of SQBLA, said that over the last nine months lamb exports had become unprofitable due to the strong pound and some major meat firms had pulled out of the export trade completely.
There was also competition from pigmeat and poultry which had been much more successful in creating innovative products to tempt the consumer.
Despite the problems of seasonality and failure to meet the exact specifications demanded by the market there were a number of plus points including a commitment to farm assurance and a network of more than 3000 retailers who had signed up to sell Specially Selected Scotch Beef and Lamb, he said.
The Scottish Agricultural College has been commissioned to conduct a study aimed at identifying opportunities for improving the selection of lambs for sale and the grading of carcases in plants. More effort will also be put into improving traceability so that buyers can be guaranteed they are being supplied with stock which is quality assured.
A further #40,000 project will involve the Edinburgh-based research company Euroaccess developing an export strategy for both beef and lamb which will be implemented as soon as the export ban on British beef is lifted.
Over the next few months Euroaccess will be speaking to importers and determining how Scottish exporters can play to their strengths once the market re-opens. That survey will include pork and venison as well as beef and lamb.
SQBLA has also developed its own website which will give a vast amount of information in all major European languages. The website, which will be formally launched by Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar at the Beef '98 event on Friday, will cater for the needs of both trade and public.
Trade inquirers will be able to access a list of farmers who are members of the quality assurance scheme and also check on the status of meat plants and abattoirs. The public will be able to track down butchers who sell the ''Specially Selected'' beef and lamb products. Those who want to eat out will also be able to pinpoint their nearest Scotch Beef Club restaurant.
The SQBLA site can be viewed on http://www.sqbla.org.uk.
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