Farmers cheer end of beef ban

From the archive, first published Wednesday 15th Mar 2006.

A multi-million pound market beckons after European Union vets this week signalled the full lifting of the ban on the export of British beef.

The decision, which should be enacted by the European Parliament in the coming weeks, will put Welsh farmers back on an even footing with other farmers within the common market, and give them a chance to recapture the £675million market which was lost when the ban was imposed in 1996, according to NFU Cymru.

Conservative MEP for Wales, Jonathan Evans, relished the news.

"Wales' farmers have been waiting ten long years for this news," he said.

"The export ban on meat from younger cattle was lifted seven years ago, but the red tape was so onerous that our farmers lost a huge chunk of their market share. Now we are on an equal footing.

"Experts agree not only that our beef is safe but that it is as safe as any beef in the world."

A meeting of the European Union Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCOFCAH) unanimously approved a commission proposal to allow the UK to export cattle born on or after August 1st 1996 along with beef and beef products derived from cattle slaughtered after June 15th 2005 on the same basis as other member states.

Exports are expected to be able to resume by the end of April or early May.

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