Beef supplier AK Stoddart hails £1m Japanese deal

Beef supplier AK Stoddart’s has secured a Japanese contract worth an estimated £1 million.

MD Grant Moir at the firm's Broxburn factory. Picture: Sandy Young.

The Ayrshire and West Lothian-based company said the deal will help it reach its target of rapidly growing exports, as it looks to grow this activity by 60 per cent this year.

It also said the tie-up shows the reputation of Scotch Beef PGI (i.e. whole chain assured) across the world continues to grow. An initial 20-tonne container of assorted beef products was despatched to Japan last month, set to arrive within the coming fortnight, and will be followed by further deliveries in the next eight to ten weeks.

The MD flags the importance of trade links with countries such as Japan. Picture: Sandy Young.

The firm noted that Japan is the third-largest economy in the world, and is a strategic stepping stone for it to access other Asian markets, with a large, rich consumer market based in urban areas.

The latest contract builds on a preliminary delivery from the company to a showcase event in Tokyo last autumn as part of the Rugby World Cup celebrations, co-organised by Scottish Development International and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). It also comes after Japan in January last year approved the export of British beef.

That was followed in December by Scotch beef returning to Canada. Stoddart’s said it supplies the likes of Jacob’s & Co steakhouse in Toronto. The firm also exports to Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Monaco.

AK Stoddart’s also said animal welfare is key, with its procurement team regularly visiting farms, and many farmers sell exclusively to the firm. The company was established in 1959 as a supplier to butchers and expanded in the early 1990s with a “state-of-the-art” boning hall in Broxburn, before adding its own abattoir in Ayr in 2000. The firm was acquired in 2015 from founder Neil Stoddart by Manifesto Foods.

It is now planning for growth in the post-lockdown era after adapting production to meet coronavirus-related guidelines. MD Grant Moir said the company was seeing more overseas opportunities emerging and it had taken steps to manage the twin challenges of Brexit and Covid-19.

He stated: “As restaurants start to re-open, we are ready to supply some of the top chefs… This deal with Japan marks an important step forward for AK Stoddart’s export plans and we will look to grow and expand on this.

Opportunities

“Brexit negotiations have opened up opportunities such as tapping into the US market, which will position us as the first and only beef processor in Scotland to be working with the states. But it has also thrown up challenges in trading and negotiations.”

However, he added that the importance to the Scottish economy of having trade links with countries such as the US and Japan is “clear, and we are working hard to navigate and adapt our business for export as the Brexit process ensues”.

QMS chief executive Alan Clarke said: “It’s fantastic news that AK Stoddart’s has secured such a substantial deal to supply our world-class Scotch Beef PGI into Japan – a market which is worth almost £130m to the UK red meat industry over five years.

“Japanese consumers are known for having a hunger for the best quality products and Scotch beef fits the bill perfectly. Scotch beef is a premium product, born, reared and processed in Scotland which is renowned across the world for its excellence and taste, as well as its leading levels of traceability, assurance and welfare standards.

“We look forward to continuing to work with AK Stoddart’s to grow their Japanese presence and their wider export portfolio, ensuring that Scotch beef can be enjoyed by consumers in new and emerging markets across the globe.”

Rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing welcomed the firm continuing to grow its overseas exports, “particularly during such challenging times”. He added: “This deal shows that there remains a strong demand for top quality Scottish produce – and how important it is to protect and promote that in the future, to enable Stoddart’s and others to sell more produce overseas.

“Japan is an important part of our international trade landscape and we are committed in assisting Japanese companies with imports of our fantastic high-quality Scotch beef.”

SCOTSMAN.COM

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