Britain’s farming minister will tell Scotland’s farmers today that the nation’s food and drink industry is better off remaining in the UK.
George Eustice is due to deliver the message to NFU Scotland’s annual meeting at St Andrews.
Mr Eustice is standing in for Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, who underwent surgery on a detached retina at the end of last week.
The opposite message will be delivered tomorrow by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead, who will use his 90-minute slot to underline the case for independence.
Mr Eustice said the UK Government had struck 112 trade deals in the last year involving livestock and animal products.
He is likely to tell his audience: “Beef and lamb are worth more than £850million to Scotland, and the deal we struck to open up the Russian market for these products is potentially worth £100million over the next three years. It would not have been possible without extensive work from Defra and the British Embassy in Moscow.
“We are determined to increase the vast potential of British food and drink to boost the economy and create jobs. As part of the United Kingdom, Scotland is in a good place to make the most of new and expanding foreign markets.
“One of the big selling points for food producers is that the UK brand is synonymous with the very highest standards and quality. This all makes it relatively easy for us to export our products.”
But Mr Eustice is also likely to face criticism, most notably over the UK Government’s decision in November to share with England, Wales and Northern Ireland a £190million rise in European payments.
That cash was all destined for Scotland as a so-called convergence uplift to resolve its poor per hectare payment rates, which are the lowest in Europe and about £80 a hectare below the EU average.
Mr Paterson has said repeatedly he will not go back on his decision. His only promise is to review the UK’s internal Cap budget allocations in 2016-17 and to implement any decisions after 2020.
NFU Scotland, however, wants any recommendations to be put in place for 2017 so the funding disadvantage faced by Scotland can be addressed.
The food for tonight’s union dinner, which will mark the end of its centenary year, comes from four of its regions – Forth and Clyde, Lothian and Borders, Argyll and Islands and Orkney and Shetland.
The starter is pressed terrine of slow-cooked Ruchlaw pork belly studded with pickled root vegetables, along with Thistly Cross cider and apple jam. Roast sirloin of beef from Airdrie’s Gaindykehead Farm takes centre stage as the main.
The dessert is fudge cheesecake from Orkney’s Grimbister Farm.
The cheeses are produced in Argyll and its islands and will be served with a hot beetroot chutney.