QUALITY MEAT Scotland’s decision to increase levy rates may not have been one of its most popular moves, but it has enabled the red meat promotional body to get back on track with the return of a twice yearly Scotch Lamb marketing campaign – in the spring and the autumn.

“QMS was a financial crossroads a year ago,” said its chairman, Donald Biggar, speaking at the launch of the QMS annual review, at Ingliston this week. “We were facing a situation where our levy income, after eight years of levy rate going unchanged, had eroded to such an extent that our ability to deliver effectively for the red meat sector in Scotland was under threat.”

These statements are backed up by the fact that in the year ending March 2010, levy income had fallen to £3.85m, compared to £3.9m the previous year and £4.2m in the year ending March 2008, due to the reduction in livestock numbers.

Consequently, the squeeze on resources led to a consolidation of Scotch Lamb marketing campaigns to an autumn-only project last year. But this year, it will be restored.

QMS chief executive Uel Morton added: “The good news is that the recovery in our income means we have been able to reinstate twice yearly Scotch Lamb marketing campaigns and we have been able to introduce an exciting support marketing campaign this autumn, promoting Scotch beef, pork and lamb, to be launched mid September.”

When the levy increase was first proposed, one of the fiercest critics of the move was the Scottish Beef Cattle Association, which at the time went so far as to call for an independent review of QMS’s expenditure.

This week, however, the SBCA offered praise, saying that it was “highly impressed” with the scale of activity in the QMS report.

“QMS has made a good start to its campaigns in 2010 but competition remains tough,” said SBCA development executive Brian Simpson. “Scottish producers have backed our trade body with a higher levy than any other part of the UK and we now need to see a sustained effort to stimulate demand in strategically important beef markets.”

But despite QMS’ admirable efforts, Mr Simpson said he was left wondering what more could be done to establish a profitable beef farming industry in Scotland. “The blunt truth is that numbers of breeding cattle continue to decline and, worryingly, this decline has not resulted in an improved supply/demand ratio – as we have seen with sheep.

“SBCA is keen to see a better premium established for Scotch beef reflecting the genuine quality and investment in quality assurance. This is why we argued for more investment in marketing activity with the higher levy rates paid from April onwards. If we are going to encourage a stronger demand for our superior Scotch beef then we need to promote heavily to consumers. Consumer demand is soon reflected by preferential buying by supermarkets and the supply/demand ratio moves in our favour.”

Mr Simpson added that it was disappointing that QMS reported only £25m of beef exports, which compared badly with the over £120m market achieved pre BSE: “Clearly there is much to be done to recover more of our old market share and we need to recognise that many changes are taking place in European beef markets.”

For its part, one potential earner that QMS would like to see some progress on is the levy lost from Scottish reared and finished cattle, sheep and pigs slaughtered in England and Wales, reckoned to be losing QMS £1m per annum.

“We would treat it as a priority, but it is not within our gift to do so,” said Mr Biggar, who added that Rural Affairs Cabinet Secretary, Richard Lochhead, had repeatedly told the red meat body that he wanted to make progress on this matter.

QMS’ total income for the year ending March 31, 2010, was just short of £6m, with a deficit of £8303, with the general reserve standing at just short of £1.6m, of which £500,000 will be used over three years to fund the recently launched Integrated Measurement of Eating Quality project.

Mr Biggar’s term of office as QMS chairman ends in March, with interviewing for the post and four board member positions expected to take place within the next month. However, appointment of a new chairman is not expected until nearer the end of the year.