Perth meat-processing plant gets £4m funding boost

The money is from the Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation (FPMC) grant scheme, and is part of an overall investment of £18 million to construct new facilities.

ABP
Published 5th Jun 2018

A Perth meat-processing plant has received £4 million in government funding to improve its infrastructure and create new jobs.

The money for ABP Perth is from the Food Processing, Marketing and Co-operation (FPMC) grant scheme, and is part of an overall investment of £18 million to construct new facilities.

The scheme has supported around 100 Scottish food and drink businesses with £45 million and created around 1,000 jobs, the government said.

The latest investment will create 80 jobs at ABP.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: "The Scottish Government is doing everything we can to support Scotland's successful food and drink industry, which has been going from strength to strength in recent years.

"Our long-term ambition is to help double that industry's value to £30 billion in the next 12 years.

"Today's investment in ABP Perth is part of a longer-term investment programme, which will help to fund major infrastructure projects - creating jobs and driving on the industry in Scotland.

"Scotland's beef producers will benefit from the availability of processing facilities of the highest quality, and the project itself will be a boon to the local economy for many years to come."

Tom Kirwan, managing director of ABP's UK Division, said: "We look forward to beginning work and transforming Perth into one of the most modern facilities of its kind in the UK.

"The improvements will benefit everyone from our farmer suppliers through to our colleagues and the local economy.

"It will create 80 additional jobs on site and provide significant employment during the construction phase."