SSA URGES GOVERNMENTS TO ACT

SSA urges governments to act before severe and lasting damage is done to sector. SSA chief executive Jimmy Buchan today urged the UK and Scottish governments to “get a grip” of the seafood exports crisis amid very few signs of improvement two weeks into the year.

“There has been a lot of direct engagement between the industry and ministers and civil servants in recent days, and plenty of soothing words about resolving ‘teething troubles’,” he said.

“But these are not minor impediments to trade. The industry in Scotland has basically ground to a halt and businesses that employ hundreds of people in communities around our coastline are losing money. In some cases they are close to going under.

“It is time for our governments to get a grip of what is now a full-blown crisis, and fast, before severe and lasting damage is done to the sector.” 

About the SSA

The Scottish Seafood Association (SSA) was formed in 2011 in response to a growing need for a national body to represent the whole of Scotland’s seafood, processing and trading sectors. We now have around 70 members from across Scotland. Almost half of the 12,000 jobs supported by the UK processing sector are based in Scotland (5000, with 3800 in Grampian alone). England also has around 5000 working directly in the sector with the remainder working across Wales and Northern Ireland. Many more are employed indirectly in supply and servicing businesses.

Against a backdrop of increasingly challenging economic, environmental and regulatory conditions, the Association’s principle aim is to ensure that the Scottish seafood processing sector enjoys a viable and long-term future which will continue to support local economies, create jobs and open up career opportunities for our young people.

Its biggest assets are its products and its people. Scotland has a global reputation for the quality and range of its seafood. SSA members are recognised as being among the world’s leading suppliers and processors of quality seafood products to regional, national and global markets.

Their primary objectives are to ensure that Scottish seafood is the first choice for the consumer and that Scottish processors are the first choice of supply.