Facts and Figures

A successful food and drink sector is a vital component of a healthy Scottish economy.

The industry in Scotland employs around 50,000 people and generates sales of £7.57 billion and exports worth £3.57 billion.
The food and drink manufacturing industry in Scotland accounts for 11.8% of the UK sector workforce.
The food and drink manufacturing industry is the single largest manufacturing sector in the UK, with a turnover of £70bn accounting for 15% of the total manufacturing sector. Ours is the fourth largest food and drink manufacturing industry in the world.
The industry employs some 500,000 people. This represents 13.7% of the manufacturing workforce in the UK. In addition, an estimated 1.2 million workers in ancillary activities depend on a successful food and drink industry for their jobs.
The sector is an important trading partner with Europe: exporting almost £10bn of food and drink products a year, two-thirds of which go the the EU. We are the world's fifth largest exporter of food and drink.
The industry is an important partner of British farming: buying two-thirds of all the UK's agricultural produce. All this economic activity is carried out by 6,530 food and drink enterprises - the vast majority of which are small companies, many employing less than 10 people.

Source: Food and Drink Federation/Food From Britain/National Statistics