East Lothian companies ripe for success
Scottish Secretary visits East Lothian food and drink firms.
Alistair Carmichael with Sandy Leckie of Belhaven Fruit Farm
Ahead of next week’s Royal Highland Show, Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael has hailed two of East Lothian’s food and drink companies.
The Scottish Secretary visited Belhaven Fruit Farm, a family run business who have been farming at Belhaven near Dunbar for generations. Next week their produce will be on display along with a range of other companies from across the UK in the Food Hall at Ingliston. The farm also houses Thistly Cross Cider which is exported worldwide to around 27 countries as well as 44 US states.
During the visit the Minister met the management, was taken on a tour of their farm and shop and heard more about their plans for the years ahead, which includes on-going work at their new shop in Edinburgh.
Mr Carmichael said:
For farmers, businesses and rural communities across Scotland, the Royal Highland Show is the fixture in the calendar. It was great to be in East Lothian to visit a company who will be displaying their high quality produce next week to the rest of Scotland and beyond.
There are huge opportunities both at home and abroad for companies like Belhaven Fruit Farm. Last year the UK Government through UKTI helped nearly 2000 Scottish businesses trade with other countries last year and we are committed to help that grow further. Our ambition to raise UK exports to £1 trillion and to get more UK companies exporting.
The Scottish Secretary then visited one of East Lothian’s most recognisable companies, Belhaven Brewery the oldest brewery in Scotland. The Secretary of State met the management team to hear about their plans for the future. Mr Carmichael added:
I valued the opportunity to visit Belhaven Brewery today. The brewery has a rich history and is part of the fabric in the local community of Dunbar as well as being one of Scotland’s most well-known companies.
In this year’s Budget the UK Government cut the tax on beer benefitting over 5,000 pubs in Scotland, the 35,000 people employed directly in them. This underlines our continuing support for Scotland’s food and drink industry.