2009 Meat Skills Scotland Finals

I'm sure everyone here will join me in congratulating the young men and the young woman who have competed here today and given us a really impressive display of the high levels skills that butchers in Scotland have to offer.

You have given those of us who have an interest in the independent butchers sector – experts in the craft and skill of butchery, those from the wider red meat industry (like myself) who recognise the important role of the independent retailer, or even loyal shoppers, an insight into the dedication and talent that exists in Scotland.

I've spent quite a bit of time today watching some of Scotland's finest butchers at work in a competitive environment and I am hugely impressed. Not only are they skilled craftsmen and women, they are able to showcase those skills in a stunning display of cuts, designed to appeal to the all important customer.

QMS has a long association with the independent butcher sector and of course the Federation. The organisation of today's event has, as always, been excellent and Douglas Scott and his team are to be congratulated.

We know from speaking to the industry that helping further improve skills is vital for all red meat businesses, not just the butcher sector. And that's why as an organisation we are happy to continue our support through sponsorship of this event.

Behind the scenes we've also been working closely with the Federation on an exciting new pilot scheme which has the potential to dramatically improve the Scottish government's butchers' vocation skills training. If the pilot scheme is a success, for the first time we will have a formal training scheme designed by butchers for butchers.

Another two projects worth a quick mention as they have potential to help drive up your sales are the 5th Quarter Project and our work in reformulating products such as burgers and pies to meet school meal specifications.

The 5th Quarter Project is funded from the Scottish Government's farming resilience fund and its aim is to drive up sales of offals, something a lot of consumers have lost touch with, and also help abattoirs relearn lost skills in processing the likes of tripe. The reason it's important to you is the project work? is entirely accessible by smaller abattoirs.

The New Product Development Work is another project to be part funded by Government through Scottish Enterprise this time and we are working with six Scottish butcher businesses to test and reformulate, if necessary, a range of products including sausages and pies that people continue to enjoy but the “health police” say we shouldn't have!

We want to work with industry and Government to help put these products back on school menus so that people can continue to eat and enjoy them as part of a balanced diet, and you can continue to sell more of them.

You'll know better than me that times are pretty tough at the sharp end of retailing just now, supplies are tight and prices are high.

People are loyal as far as meat products are concerned though and they don't like being told what they can and can't eat. They're also loyal when it comes to where they buy that meat. A large part of that is driven by liking what they see when they come into the shop – the friendly welcome from someone who knows what they are talking about and can offer practical advice, illustrated by the excellent displays of meat product in the chill cabinet.

Although some multiple retailers try to emulate these displays, I think few would be happy to pit themselves against you in a competition like this.