Beef farmers across Scotland have voiced concerns about the impact that ABP's takeover of Scotbeef's Bridge of Allan abattoir and its packing facility at Queenslie, will have as the meat sector continues to dwindle into ever fewer hands.

The sale of the Scotbeef plant, which does not go through until the end of July, came hard on the heels of its loss of an Aldi contract, which moved to ABP earlier in the year. However, it appears that the prestigious contract with Marks and Spencer will be split between ABP and Scotbeef.

An M&S spokesperson said: “ABP has purchased Scotbeef’s Bridge of Allan beef and lamb abattoir and will continue to supply the same range of products to M&S from the purchased Queenslie site. We don’t expect to see any significant changes to supply.

"M&S will continue to take products from the sites not being sold and raw material supply through Inverurie will be maintained. There is no change to our current sourcing of products from East Kilbride.”

Scotbeef's CEO, Robbie Galloway, said: "This sale is the right move for our staff and producer suppliers and also for Scottish agriculture as it secures the ongoing viability of these slaughtering and packing facilities in Scotland.

“Like Scotbeef, ABP is a family-run business and we have been working closely with them to ensure a smooth transition. We are appreciative of the support and help we have received from the Goodman family and their ABP colleagues as we have gone through this process. We wish them well for the future with this acquisition."

Scotbeef will continue to operate its sites in Inverurie, East Kilbride, Annan, Heysham and Woverhampton, whilst ABP will be running two of the largest abattoirs in Scotland only 30 miles apart.

When ABP takes over the running of Bridge of Allan from August it will be mean that around two-thirds of the Scottish kill will go through Irish-owned abattoirs. In the last three weeks, the Scottish kill has been picking up following reduced numbers in April and the start of May when the total cattle kill was around 7500 head.

However, despite the rise the number of cattle going through Scottish abattoirs, the kill is still well down on the first quarter of 2022 when 8600 animals were processed per week.

Chief executive of the National Beef Association, Neil Shand, commented: “There is massive concern about one organisation having so much buying power which equates to pricing power in Scotland. Moreover, there is also concern from people who don’t want to deal with certain companies will now have no option.

"But we shouldn’t create a knee-jerk reaction and say the price is being pulled because of the takeover. With a combined kill capacity in excess of 3000 head per week, the new organisation could be aggressive in pushing price up to fill their Scottish plants.

“The most important thing is that capacity is retained, not just for Scotland but for all of GB processing. The Scotbeef kill would historically include a high percentage of non-Scottish bred cattle,” he pointed out

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Scottish Beef Association's chairman, Paul Ross, added: “It is good that processing capacity is staying in Scotland, but it is hugely disappointing that one processor has such a large percentage of power. Concentration of power is an increasing issue as we can already see in the retail sector where the major of meat is sold through just a handful of companies.”

Grant Rogerson, CEO of ANM Group, which works with Scotbeef procuring cattle and own the abattoir in Inverurie, said: "Although ANM no longer holds shares in Scotbeef Inverurie, we remain committed to help them as much as we can with the existing premises and the move to their site at Thainstone Business Park purchased from us in 2019.

"The acquisition of the Bridge of Allan abattoir and Queenslie packing plant by ABP is without doubt a significant development for the livestock sector right across Scotland which simply underpins the importance of buying and selling through the live ring.”

NFU Scotland’s president, Martin Kennedy, was also cautious: “This acquisition is a significant concern for our membership. Any consolidation in red meat processing risks the healthy required competition in our markets. The future of our vibrant live ring is critical to transparency for the primary producer, and this must be maintained in Scotland.

“That said, we welcome any commitment to maintain Scottish processing and packaging sites under ABP, and we are relieved that Scotbeef will continue to operate in Inverurie, Annan and East Kilbride. These play a crucial role in adding value to farm businesses, as well as supporting local communities through jobs, and protecting our standards and provenance.”

Neil Wilson, executive director of IAAS, said more farmers could inject competition into the market place by selling their cattle live through the live ring. He said: “IAAS remains concerned about the direction of travel in the Scottish red meat processing sector following the announcement of Scotbeef's decision to sell some parts of its business to ABP.

"Scottish beef and sheep farmers have suffered from a lack of competition in the finished and processing market place for far too long and this is likely to compound that situation with one less competitive offer for the finished livestock. Fortunately, Scottish auction markets remain ready and willing to increase their role in the finished livestock sector.

"We have long campaigned for farmers to use their local auction market and its transparent price discovery marketing system to their collective advantage when it comes to selling stock.”