Exports of Scottish salmon to the US have reached the £200 million mark after a sharp rise last year.
The figure has been hailed as a “major breakthrough” by the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation. Exports to the US have had a four-fold rise in just five years.
Scotland’s biggest export is salmon. Sales around the world of its farmed salmon were worth £450 million last year, a major leap from the results in 2012.
In fact, its food and drinks are its fastest growing export section. Overall sales are worth £5.3bn, a figure the industry hopes to grow to £7bn by 2017.
American demand for Scotland’s salmon has recently overtaken that of the French, making the US the industry’s largest market.
Already exporting salmon to 65 countries, the industry has a new export plan which includes deploying teams of global experts in seven high priority markets - North America, France, Germany, the Middle East, China and Hong Kong, Japan and South East Asia.
The plans are ambitious, but the industry recognises that it must grow sustainably if it to deliver.
