Warning over red meat shortages as Scotland's beef supplies near 'critical point'

Supermarket shelves across Scotland could see shortages of red meat as beef supplies near a “critical point”.

The Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers (SAMW) has warned that beef supplies are dwindling as cattle levels continue to fall.

The number of cattle used for beef production has declined by more than 10% over the past ten years.

Farmers say staff shortages are the main factor behind declining numbers and that the government must develop better policies to help grow herds.

Scotland’s red meat sector employs more than 3,000 people across more than 20 processing plants and contributes more than £2bn to the economy.

Scott Walker, SAMW, expressed “serious concern” about insufficient supplies to meet domestic demand with the decline “likely to be felt on retail shelves at certain points” in 2025.

Cattle farmer David Smith said the biggest problem is ensuring there is enough labour to cover everything needed to care for cattle.

“It’s 24 hours a day, and you have to feed them with no days off. They don’t take holidays,” he said.

SAMW is calling on the government to “focus on action, not words” regarding the future of Scottish red meat production.

“It takes three years to produce each kilogram of quality beef for which Scotland is famous, a fact which already takes the impact of any decisions reached next year, deep into 2028,” Mr Walker said.

He added that SAMW is projecting another 6% decline in the coming years.

“This is at a time when there’s record prices are being paid for beef cattle, we’ve got increasing demand for the product here in GB and across the world, and we’re actually turning orders away because we can’t fill them in a normal year you’d seen an increase in output. We need better future-term planning to give the industry confidence,” he said.

While the price increase is a welcome boost for farmers, Mr Smith said challenges remain long-term.

“We are in a good position at the moment, but a year and a half ago, it was another story,” he said.

“We need to look after the long term future, and it’s not just farmers, it’s all the ancillary staff that suppport farmers as well.”

He added: “Raising cattle for beef production is a long-term game; the industry warns without sufficient support, shortages could be seen in the months ahead.”

Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie said: “Scotland’s meat sector is globally recognised for its quality and we believe that Scotland can be a global leader in sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

“We developed reforms with the industry, such as the calving interval in the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme, to maintain the £40m paid annually to beef producers and reduce the environmental impact of their businesses,” he said.

Fairlie added that the government will continue working with the sector to tackle the challenges of declining livestock numbers.

“The Scottish Government support package for livestock farmers is the most tailored in the UK, including voluntary coupled support for beef production and support for Less Favoured areas through the LFASS scheme providing specific additional direct support to our red meat sector,” he said.

“We also provided the industry with £500,000 additional financial support to help with cost increases.

“This is in stark contrast to the UK Government – currently fast-tracking the end of direct support to livestock farmers in England.”