Re-opened: Red meat exports to the EU

The demand is still out there - importers in EU member states are telling us they want our beef and lamb now says the Chairman of the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX), John Cross.

The announcement of a lifting of the Foot and Mouth related export ban allowing meat and livestock exports to EU member states to resume from Saturday 25 August is great news for the livestock industry, Mr Cross said.

"Europe is our single most important export market taking around 90 per cent of UK meat and livestock exports. Getting the go ahead to resume trading so quickly means the industry should be able to recover sales volumes rapidly over the next six to eight weeks.

"Our export companies are all prepared for a flying start and the EBLEX export team based across Europe has been working flat out to maintain the interest of importers, and over the next few weeks they will focus on helping exporters rapidly re-establish beef and lamb trading volumes.

"Export markets are especially vital to the lamb industry as we near our peak Autumn production volumes. This welcome news on the reopening of export markets should help bolster farmgate prices at this important time.

"We still have a way to go before the industry is back on a normal footing, but we are heartened by the rapid progress that is now being made".