Tourism and what it means for wholesalers will come under the microscope at the forthcoming Scottish Wholesale Association conference with Marc Crothall, chief executive of the Scottish Tourism Alliance, giving an update on an ambitious plan to boost food tourism in Scotland by £1 billion.

The Scottish Wholesale Association has expressed disappointment that Scotland’s new deposit return scheme (DRS) will not exempt smaller retailers and that it will include glass, presenting a range of health and safety implications as well as logistical challenges.

The SWA, working in partnership with the FWD and ACS, has produced a wholesale industry poster to help wholesalers raise awareness of Track and Trace regulations among their retail customers.

With the Scottish Wholesale Association’s 2019 Annual Conference less than two months away, details of the high-profile event’s first-ever Producers’ Exhibition – a collaboration with industry organisation Scotland Food & Drink – have been unveiled.

Catch up with the latest news from the Scottish Wholesale Association in our April Bulletin.

Plans to revitalise the Scottish Wholesale Association and place renewed focus on training, building business, lobbying and legislation through greater collaboration, consultation and communication have been unveiled with members – wholesalers and suppliers – urged to get involved by helping shape the organisation’s strategic vision for the future.

The SWA are proud to sit on the new national board for Scotland’s Food Tourism Strategy, aiming to unlock Scotland’s £1bn food tourism potential. Helping deliver growth to our members in collaboration with other trade bodies & experts, we aim to increase visitor spend on food & drink.

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The Scottish Wholesale Association’s latest Brexit Update highlights recent discussions that the SWA has held directly with the Scottish Government, as well as those that we’ve fed into Defra and the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU). Members are urged to contact SWA with their views.

The Scottish Wholesale Association has welcomed the news that the Scottish Government will not go ahead with a proposed new business rates levy on out-of-town premises.

Plans are under way for the Scottish Wholesale Association’s 2019 Annual Conference with Dawood Pervez, managing director of Bestway Wholesale, Colin McLean, chief executive of Dundee-based Spar wholesaler CJ Lang and Chieh Huang, chief executive of the US-based online wholesaler Boxed among the speakers.