Scotland reels in China diners

Freshly caught fish in the Fishmarket Peterhead ready for morning auction. Peterhead Scotland UK. [Photo/IC]

Clean water and high quality standards have made Scottish fish and seafood popular among consumers and top chefs

Scottish politics has made news worldwide recently, but politics isn't the only thing interesting about Scotland to foreigners.

For those who are more interested in food and drink, Scotland has much more to offer, not the least in terms of fish and other seafood.

Scotland's ultraclean water is well-suited for aquaculture and seafood farming, and fueled by a demand in the Chinese market, seafood exports have grown over the past year, according to figures released by the Scottish government.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs export statistics for last year show that food exports alone grew by 3.5 percent on 2013, driven primarily by a surge in fish and other seafood, which was up 38 million pounds ($60 million).

"The increasing demand from China and the wider Asia region has certainly had a huge impact on overall exports. Food exports to China in 2014 were up a massive 82 percent to 46 million pounds, mostly due to a 92 percent increase in exports of fish and seafood," said Susan Beattie, head of food and drink at Scottish Development International.

"The export figures show some really positive growth in particular markets as we start to widen our export base beyond Europe and broaden the range of food products being exported," Beattie added.

SDI, the investment and trade promotion agency of the Scottish government and its economic development agencies, is investing in a team of global food and drink specialists to dovetail with the efforts of its existing staff in Scotland and in 29 offices around the world.

These specialists are based in SDI's top prospect export markets, and at the beginning of June, they were back in Scot-land for face-to-face meetings with ambitious Scottish companies looking to export to their markets.

"This type of on-the-ground connection is so important for companies looking to expand internationally, and is a great example of how we can help food and drink companies to prepare for export success," Beattie said.

Salmon－Scotland's No 1 food export－last year for the first time became the UK's biggest food export to China, an important emerging market, continuing its growth from virtually nothing in 2011 to almost 65 million pounds, with an extra 40 percent in volume last year, according to a report from the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation.

Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd is one of the Scottish companies keen to export salmon to the Chinese market.