Vegetables

Vegetables: Grown and known for quality

Scotland has some of Britain’s best soil and boasts water sources prized for their purity. This allows for a full basket: carrots, turnips, swedes, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes and mushrooms, as well as the peas and potatoes.

Meeting Demands

From field to plate, the country produced 432.8k tonnes in 2019, with a value at the farm gate of £164.5 million. Some 2,232 farm holdings contribute to such rich annual harvests – most of these in South East Tayside. Scottish vegetables are part of a blooming industry in the UK. The value of British exports is projected to contribute 6.5% of Scotland’s total food and drink revenue – some £170 million. To this, add fresh and chilled exports to European countries, plus increasingly important markets in North Africa and Asia.

A spotlight on our humble heroes 

Scottish seed potatoes are considered among the best in the world. With 282 varieties and a reputation for seed health and quality, Scotland supplies 77% of the seed for the Great British potato industry and exports seed potatoes to around 33 countries.

And then there are the peas: 42k tonnes of them grown here in 2021. Peas are a highly sustainable crop needing few inputs. No wonder Scotland’s growers love them! Of the UK’s total pea production (by 700 growers in 18 farmer groups stretching up Britain’s east coast from Essex to Dundee) Scottish farms produce around 26%.

In tune with natural resources

Scotland’s climate, cool summers, low sunlight intensity and rain make ideal conditions for our vegetables. Under the watchful care of farmers – some of whose families have farmed here for generations – everything from potatoes to the delicate vining pea flourish and thrive. Geoff from Bruce Farms puts it best: “In Scotland, we’re blessed with climate, land, water, people. All of that comes together to create fantastic Scottish vegetables.”

Quality Assurance

Scottish high standards, upheld by rigorous independent testing extend from the country’s crunchiest carrots to its tangiest tomatoes. Scotland's vegetable supply chain has robust quality assurance built in – from schemes such as GlobalG.A.P, LEAF and Food Standards Scotland. These include systems of traceability at farms and in factories, which must meet Red Tractor and the British Retail Consortium requirements. High crop husbandry standards met from farm to freezer or fork.

Sustainability

The Scottish vegetable industry uses trusted conservation practices for biodiversity during growing, so it embraces sustainability naturally. For example, pea crop fixes its own nitrogen, so there’s no need for nitrogen-based fertiliser. It also means every pea crop fertilises the soil it leaves behind.

We’re also championing environmentally responsible alternatives such as cold storage, upgraded processing facilities and packaging technologies to reduce waste. 

There are also schemes such as The Courtauld Commitment 2030, which supports producers’ efforts to be more sustainable. This UK success story aims to reduce farm-to-fork food waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and water stress.