Sales of Scottish food and drink have reached a record high of £14.3billion.
Surely that’s good news for everyone in the supply chain? Sadly not.
The men and women working the land to put food on our plates are being screwed over.
While government was this week celebrating the success of our wonderful food and drink industry, it was also releasing figures which show farmers are up to their eyeballs in debt.
The outstanding debt of Scottish farm businesses in the year to May 31, 2015 stood at £2.03billion.
That’s up £73million on last year and the highest level since the late 1980s, allowing for inflation.
Bank of England figures also show that by May this year the debt of the UK agriculture, hunting and forestry sector had risen by 42% since 2010.
Scottish agriculture is on its knees and urgent action is needed now.
Government has repeatedly launched consultations and set up working groups for Scottish farming, but our hardworking producers need action not words.
As well as receiving low prices, producers have had to battle some of the worst summer weather experienced in a lifetime.
And while the Scottish Government awarded rural charity RSABI £50,000 to help weather-stricken producers, this is not enough.
2015 is an extraordinary year, requiring extraordinary measures.
Farm minister Richard Lochhead has pledged to help producers by creating a Fairer Framework for the supply chain.
Everyone in the food and drink supply chain must get behind this, and those that don’t must be named and shamed.
It is a crying shame and an outright disgrace that the people producing the food and drink which graces supermarket shelves across the world are being forced to produce it at a loss.
Food is not a luxury. It is a necessity.
Government, retailers and Joe Bloggs public needs to remember this and not take food for granted.