THE deep-fried Mars bar may have led to a global gastronomic caricature of the nation's eating habits, but the international reputation of Scottish fare has never been higher.

Food exports from Scotland broke the £1 billion barrier for the first time last year, according to analysis by Scottish Development International (SDI).

The biggest increase was to Poland, with a 139% rise in exports on 2009, with fish and seafood prominent. The other fastest-growing markets are United Arab Emirates, up by 114%, Germany 29%, USA 25%, Canada 24%, Japan, 22% and France 15%.

Zosia Wierzbowicz-Fraser, chairwoman of the Inverness Polish Association, said she was not surprised.

She said: “Smoked salmon is a great favourite, because for some reason it has rarely been available in Poland. Fresh salmon as well, because there has not been the same fish farming industry.

“A lot of Poles came over and worked in salmon and seafood processing in the Highlands. They would have been testing the products and gone home with samples or told people about them. Haggis is also a great favourite.”

The new figures, which have been extracted from official HM Revenue and Customs export statistics for 2010, show food exports alone soared by almost 14% to £1.06bn and the combined total international sales for Scottish food and Scotch whisky increased by 11% to £4.51bn during last year. As in previous years, whisky exports accounted for the lion’s share of the overall food and drink exports, standing at £3.45bn and up 10% on 2009.

However, the news that food exports have broken the £1bn barrier is being hailed as evidence of increasing international awareness and appreciation of the quality, provenance and heritage of Scottish food.

Anne MacColl, SDI chief executive, said: “This fantastic result is testimony to the hard work of indigenous food and drink industry and the growing international perception of Scotland as a world-leading producer of high quality food and drink.

“We are very proud of this reputation and this is something we are continuing to nurture through our ongoing contact with some of the world’s leading food and drink buyers, with whom we meet regularly via our network of overseas trade and investment offices.

“The numbers show traditional export markets such as Europe and the US are proving very attractive to Scottish companies, but we can’t underestimate the opportunities further afield in Asia.

“Thanks to the competitive exchange rate, Scottish goods are now up to 40% cheaper than two years ago and Asia has plenty of high net worth individuals who have money in their pockets. As such, our message to Scottish companies is to be bold and broaden your horizons; the opportunity is out there and SDI can support you in taking those first steps to achieve your global ambitions.”

The largest share of food exports was in the fish and seafood sector, with international sales hitting £620 million, a growth of 12% on 2009. Fresh salmon alone enjoyed an increase in export volumes of 20%, rising to 78,611 tonnes from 65,480 tonnes the previous year, with the US the biggest international market for Scottish salmon (31,924 tonnes).

Elsewhere, the greatest growth in international sales during 2010 was registered in the fruit and vegetable category (54%), thanks to a lift in exports of Scottish seed potatoes.

SDI, which is a joint venture between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, believes the figures show the benefit of it leading delegations of Scottish food and drink companies to key international trade shows in locations such as Brussels, Boston, Dubai, Paris New York.