Quality Meat Scotland breakfast: First Minister's speech - 18 June 2026

Well thank you very much Sarah and good morning everybody. It is lovely to be with you.

The most common point that has been said to me as I have been walking through the show this morning is, “why didn’t you decide to stay in Boston for the Morocco game on Friday night?”

To which I said, “well how on earth could I have done that I would have missed the Royal Highland and Agricultural Show if I had done it.” So, I have come specially to see you all this morning. But I have every intention of returning should Scotland get out of the group stages and further into the competition.  

I am very pleased to be here this morning to be part of the QMS breakfast event. And can I begin by recognising the outstanding work that Kate, Sarah and everyone at QMS take forward to fly the flag for Scotland’s red meat sector – particularly for their achievement last month in launching the brand Prime Scottish Pork.

It is a terrific boon not only to our pork sector at a time when it is facing particular challenges but also to our consumers who want to know they’re buying the very best.

And I would just like to take a second to highlight their excellent campaign that has been taken forward for Scottish meats during the very special Summer of Sport that’s been taken forward by QMS.

And whoever came up with the tagline, “the ‘steaks’ have never been higher” deserves a promotion for that particular line to be taken forward.

On the points that Sarah made in her contribution, was about the clarity that the Government has given to the industry, and particularly around the importance of livestock production within Scotland and sustaining livestock numbers within Scottish agriculture.

And, this is one of the commitments which people might think is almost a statement of the obvious, but I would point out that the Government was advised to take steps as part of climate action to reduce livestock numbers and decided not to take that course of action.

And that is not a simple thing for Government to do. It takes an awful lot of careful consideration about what we can do as alternatives to fulfil our climate objectives.

But fundamentally, the Government took a decision which we believe is fundamentally right for Scottish agriculture and for the preservation of what Sarah talked about. About livestock production and also the heritage of Scottish agriculture and its significance within the national identity of our country.

So, I’m pleased that we reached that conclusion and that it provides the certainty that is important for the agriculture sector.

Having represented a rural constituency for now nearly 30 years I am acutely conscious of the long-term nature of the agricultural sector and the importance of there being policy clarity and certainty for the industry. And my government is determined to deliver exactly that.

So it is a particular pleasure to be here at the Royal Highland Show, the peak of the Scottish agricultural calendar.  And an important event in Scotland’s cultural calendar as well.

Here, each year, we come to celebrate the very best of Scottish rural life.  We come to connect with our food, our heritage and with each other.

But the Highland Show is not only a celebration of Scottish identity, it is also a remarkable opportunity for business and economic activity. 

Here, producers, processors and retailers come together to – both figuratively and literally – set out their stall.  They come to forge new partnerships and to grow.

By the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland’s estimates, over £250 million in business is conducted here at this show.

To me, that sums this sector up so well.

Our agricultural industry is so many things to Scotland. 

With all its proud history and tradition, it sits at the heart of our culture and our national identity. 

It is the foundation of our rural life and the food that brings families and communities together around the dinner table each night.

At the same time, it is a bustling industry with businesses, large and small, that provide jobs and prosperity for our people and country.

This sector powers our £19 billion food and drinks industry – the lynchpin of the Scottish economy.  And, through its exports, it shares Scottish culture and cuisine with the world.

So, for all of these reasons, we need to keep this industry healthy and prosperous. 

And I also need to signal to you the important I attach to the industry contributing significantly to the economic growth agenda which is at the heart of the Government’s programme.

As I see it, our job in government is to ensure that we create the right conditions for you to succeed. 

It would be fair to say those conditions have been particularly challenging in recent times.  In an increasingly turbulent time globally, most sectors around the world have had to weather significant storms on an almost relentless basis.

But this sector has experienced more shocks than most. 

I have heard the feedback about that directly from the industry, whether it has been in my own constituency in Perthshire, at the NFU Scotland conference in February, last year, when I visited the Auction Mart in Orkney. Or in the various agricultural visits I have taken forward around the country.

I hear firsthand about the impacts of trade disruption and global upheaval.

About the significant costs of leaving the European Union. And the significant costs arising out of the challenges of energy costs, the cost of living, the cost of commodities, the cost of fertiliser into the market.   

I have heard of the disruption caused by climate change with increasingly extreme weather events and the damage that comes with them.

I have heard those views from across industry and I understand the challenges and the anxiety.  The sense that the ground is constantly shifting beneath your feet.  The feeling that there is constant challenge underway.

Now, through all of this, the industry has shown remarkable grit and resilience.  You have continued to put world class, nutritious products onto the shelves in supermarkets and tables in our homes.

The more than 1,000 stalls and exhibitors at this year’s Highland Show – as well as the more than 200,000 visitors – are evidence of just how well you have weathered these storms.

That must be commended. 

But it cannot be and it cannot mean that we leave it to you unsupported.

For all the reasons I have mentioned – both cultural and economic – Scotland must be resolute in our support for this industry.

So let me say, at the outset, that I and the whole of my government are committed to your success.  Through our policies, our legislation, our funding and, crucially, our relationship with you, we are here to work with you to grow and to thrive.

We are committed to a future for this industry where farmers, crofters, producers and processors lead the world in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.  Feeding our communities and powering our economy.

Today, I want to talk a bit about how – in this new government – we are working to make that future a reality.

It is also to say, though, that we cannot – and should not - do this alone.  By ourselves, we could never be as successful as we can be working with you.

And this is where I make an invitation to the agricultural sector in Scotland and all of the component parts that contribute to this industry.

I recognise the enormity of the challenge that we face to ensure that Scotland has a strong and vibrant economy in the years to come.

I’ve put that mission central to agenda of the Scottish Government.

And the Scottish food and drink industry, and the agriculture sector particularly, has a fundamental role to play in that agenda of growth in our economy.

But for further growth to happen, there must be stable conditions for growth to happen. There must be investment for growth to happen. There must be a bold and ambitious agenda for economic success in our country.

And that is reflected in the priorities of the Government’s programme. And my invitation to this industry is to be partners with the Government in taking that forward.

Of identifying the steps and the measures that will ensure that the agriculture sector is able to make a significant contribution to our economic growth and our economic journey as a country.

So my government needs your involvement. We need to collaborate. We need to compromise. We need to coproduce to take forward that agenda.

That’s why I’m delighted that I’m joined today by the Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Rural Affairs, Gillian Martin, and the Minister for Agriculture, Jim Fairlie, who are both with me today.

They will be able to spend quite a lot of time at the show. I’m going back to answer First Minister’s Questions later on this afternoon.

My ministers are here to take forward that dialogue with the industry as they do on an all-year-round basis.

To talk about all of our hopes for this industry and how over the next few years we can work together to bring those hopes into reality.

We know stability and certainty are essential.  They enable you to plan for the future and invest with confidence.

So, we are committed to providing you with that stability and that certainty.  That is the big picture that is set out in our 5-year Rural Support Plan.

That is why I want to reiterate loud and clear to you, today, that we will continue with direct payments.

We will continue the Small Producer Pilot Fund.

We will continue the Future Farming Investment Scheme.

And we will continue to support Scotland’s food and drink sector.

You can trust in this support as you plan for the future and as you plan to grow.

And, where change is necessary, we remain committed to phased transitions – not cliff edges – and to working with you to formulate and to deliver those changes.

Your expertise makes our policies better.

Take our reforms to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme for example.  In response to your concerns, we removed the 410-day calving interval condition for businesses claiming 10 calves or fewer.

The scheme improves efficiency and lowers emissions in our suckler beef sector and it change support for smaller and island producers.

But it is just one example of a difference that you have made to government policy by that constructive engagement about how to make schemes work in everybody’s interests.

Your intervention and your involvement made government policy better.

I want to continue that kind of engagement going forward – so that your views improve our policies.  So that we know they work for you as well as for the rest of Scotland.

Now there will of course be issues of controversary and debate. And one of those is the proposed price cap on supermarket essentials.

I believe the cap is needed to ensure that, as cost of living pressures persist, essential food items, and I stress essential foot items, remain affordable to members of the public.  It is needed because no one should have to choose between feeding their family and meeting their other basic needs.

But we also know that achieving our aim requires very careful consideration and handling.  It cannot come at the expense of farmers, growers and producers who produce these items for us all.  

So the commitment I give you today, in the spirit of what I have just said about the engagement that enhances public and government policy, is that we will work constructively and closely with you on how this cap is implemented to ensure it is well informed and effectively delivered.

Now, in relation to the future of Scottish agriculture we are determined to ensure that we support the consumption of food produced here in Scotland by the policy interventions that we take forward.

So we have committed to a Public Sector Food Procurement Taskforce – to work with stakeholders and the industry to review barriers and to make recommendations for the strengthening of local procurement.

Work is already well underway to establish the Taskforce and ministers will convene a first meeting this summer.

And that is a crucial other area of involvement for this industry, to ensure that we use the expertise of the industry to design an approach which enables us to maximise domestic production use within the wider procurement of the public sector, which accounts for a formidable element of our public policy interventions.

Alongside this national work, we want to enable you to grow your reach internationally, to showcase Scotland’s remarkable food and drink offering to the world.

I know that global events and decisions made beyond our borders have, regrettably, driven up costs and made that task more difficult. 

And the effects of Brexit and the disruption to trade from leaving the European Union are creating difficulties and challenges for the sector. We know that Brexit was a damaging decision.

But what the Scottish Government is trying to do is to press the United Kingdom Government to make the much needed reforms that are necessary to our trading relationship with the European Union.

Particularly in relation to the formulation of an effective and appropriate SPS agreement.

And also taking steps on immigration where we can have real and tangible approaches to ensure that we can attract the labour that will enable us to sustain our farming sector in Scotland.

We need to have those to make progress on all of these questions.

You know my policy objective of Scotland being an independent member of the European Union.

But in advance of achieving that objective, I want to press the UK Government in getting the strongest and most effective relationship we can with the European Union.

And international trade matters to all of us.

I have just come back from the United States and on Monday visited the cooperages in Kentucky that played such a significant part in articulating the case for the removal of tariffs on Scotch whisky. Which, of course, the application of those tariffs had such a negative effect on the production of the Scotch whisky sector and the market for malting barley in the agricultural sector.

That’s a classic example of us using our engagement with international partners in the Bourbon industry in Kentucky to partner with the Scotch Whisky Association and make a compelling case that resulted in the removal of tariffs on Scotch Whisky. Creating a market opportunity which creates more possibilities for the agricultural sector in Scotland.

So for all of these reasons, having that wider perspective about the trade conditions.

Whether it is about the support for domestic consumption of agricultural products. Or about reaching out to other markets.

All of these questions lie at the heart of the challenges that we face but also of the routes to economic success upon which we all depend.

Now the role of agriculture, the role of the food and drink sector, is central to the Government’s economic agenda, which is why I have decided in the structuring of the Government to put responsibility for food and drink into our economic portfolio.

And that is to make sure that the importance of the food and drink sector is central to the economic journey and the economic direction of the Government.

Of course, there is a close partnership and collaboration that I expect of all of my ministers on all issues.

But the leadership that Stephen Flynn will give as Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Tourism and Transport responsibility means that the food and drink voice is right at the heart of the Government’s economic strategy. Supported by the work that Gillian Martin and Jim Fairlie take forward in their respective responsibilities.

Meaning that the opportunities to strengthen and to develop the role of the food and drink sector in Scotland is right at the very heart of the economic agenda that the Government takes forward.

One of the important commitments that we set out is that we will bring forward engagement within the first 100 days of the Government on the formulation of a Rural Renewal Bill, which will support our rural communities in reaching their massive potential for sustainable growth.

We know that the legislative environment in which we operate must be conducive to economic growth. So as we engage on the contents of the Rural Renewable Bill, let me make it clear that the objective of the Government is to bring forward legislation that will enable much greater engagement with the sector.

That will enable the sector to pursue much greater opportunities. That will enable the sector to do more to fuel the economic growth of Scotland.

I don’t want this legislation to be viewed as something that is going to be more restrictive or have more impediments.

I want to make it clear that this legislation is going to be about enabling the growth and development of the sector.

And to do that we need to hear your voices.

And on that, and so many other issues, let me close by reiterating the importance I attach to the dialogue that takes place with this sector and to ensure your aspirations are aligned with the aspirations of the Government to grow and to strengthen the Scottish economy.

We have a tremendous opportunity because of the strength, the credibility and the quality of the food and drink production within Scotland to ensure that our country is able to realise greater economic opportunities as a consequence.

That opportunity is going to be right at the heart of the Government’s economic strategy. But we need to work in partnership with you to make sure that comes about.

So, I wish you well for an exciting and dynamic Royal Highland Show.

I look forward to engaging with the sector over the course of the summer at various other events of this type around the country.

My ministers are here to engage with you, to listen and to reflect your views around the cabinet table and fundamentally to make sure that we create a sense of common purpose in Scotland to make sure that our country is successful.

That is what lies at the heart of my government’s agenda. A determination to make Scotland successful.

And to make Scotland successful our economy has to grow.

And the food and drink sector and the agricultural community must be part of that journey.

And I invite you to work with the Government to take that forward.

Thank you very much.