A recent visit to the Rungis market in Paris, France, was an eye-opener on how to facilitate trade, or at least how the state can in part facilitate commerce, because the French government has a considerable stake in this internationally renowned operation. I visited as part of a scoping trip on export opportunities and was blown away by the commitment France has invested in this national hub and the kudos the market expounds. With a turnover of €6.1bn and 12,000 employees, Rungis is a sight to behold and, if you are food lover, immerse yourself in.

Interestingly, volume from the supermarket sector barely touches the sides of this operation, with 72% of trade in food for the likes of Carrefour and Leclerc never passing through the gates. Instead, Rungis supplies the independent sector, a huge Parisian market (65% of its activity) and exports across Europe and beyond (10%) via a close-knit network of wholesalers and logistics operators.

I saw a lot of Irish beef, Aberdeen Angus, but not a lot of Scottish to speak of; in fact very little, which was hugely disappointing. Surrounded by Michelin-starred chefs in greater Paris, exceeding 100 (12 in Scotland), this is even more so, as many pride themselves in shopping at the market. This may only count for a tiny fraction of demand, but reputation can set the tone for food trends, and in a time when some Parisian chefs have got to believing Scottish beef is better than French – and this for many French gastronomic xenophobes – this can be enough to plant the seed of change. This accolade cannot be overlooked in a market which is very partisan to its locally sourced credentials, and these points of difference should be coveted – quality good and reputation above others.

Reflection

Arriving back home and attending a meeting of pig producers in Aberdeenshire, this French visit made me reflect on the state of play in Scotland and on our localised trading. The ever-decreasing pool of independent abattoirs is gnawing away at the core of what was a very vibrant meat trade. The growth of supermarkets will not abate and there is a future for forward-thinking butchers, but they do need local slaughter and processing to protect their local status and the opportunity to serve the community.

This is what Rungis does very well on an epic scale; little white vans tearing about the streets of greater Paris from the early hours of the morning with carefully selected meat. In Scotland the bigger processors are moving, or have moved, away from this service and it is now left to the likes of the Wishaw abattoir and its wholesalers like MacDuff and Hugh Black in the central belt to pick up a very extended delivery service. The question might be now, who can do this in Inverness-shire or Aberdeenshire?

Where is this market going and how will it be serviced? As the last of the smaller abattoirs close their doors and numbers dwindle, what is becoming apparent is we will no longer have this vibrant middle tier of independent trading. The unintended domino effect of these closures is what will go with it too, the remaining butchers who rely on these units, as the bigger supermarket-focused processors give short shrift to sourcing the needs of individual kills.

Butchers are learning to diversify, add value and in tandem keep to their old-fashioned principles of good service and cross-selling, but the traceability of their meat chain is a huge chunk of the story. The Scottish Government is providing grants to bolster processing capacity, but there should perhaps be a more strategic map on where the capacity is needed, and for which markets, if we want to have vibrant, local high streets selling local product.

There may be a ring of irony in these words coming from an ex-supermarket meat buyer, but there should be room for a patchwork of supply across the country, if the support or capital investment in the supply chain is allocated in a strategic way which accounts for geography – and tied into where the animals are and servicing local contracts, and the public money should be tied in to honouring these needs. The recent decision by First Milk now throws the same conundrum into the limelight for our dairy sector.

Back to the catalyst for these thoughts, the message I did leave France with, and which was ringing in my ears, along with the chink of swift beers from the melee at the market café mid-shift: “You have a reputation above others countries here in the market, why don’t you play on it.”