Farmers' fears over EU export ban

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Farmers in Wales are concerned about the continuing European export ban as restrictions are relaxed for the first time since the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Animals can now be moved for slaughter, but only under "stringent conditions", Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones said.

But a European Union ban on British meat and livestock could put farming in Wales "in crisis", experts have said.

Farmers will argue the ban should be lifted in Wales because of its distance from the original outbreak in Surrey.

Restrictions have also been relaxed in England, where farmers outside Surrey's protection and surveillance zones have been allowed to take animals to slaughter and dispose of dead livestock.

The ban on moving cows, sheep and pigs which came in when the outbreak was confirmed on Friday, meant farmers were not able to sell any livestock, or take them to abattoirs, and workers at two abattoirs on Anglesey and in Gwynedd were temporarily laid off.

I only hope that the supermarkets and the meat trade will think that it is going to be difficult for us and rely on the home market rather than imports from abroad Iwan Price Davies, farmer

Speaking to a meeting of farming union leaders on Wednesday, Ms Jones said the decision to ease the ban in Wales had been taken on the basis of veterinary advice and risk assessment.

She urged consumers to buy Welsh meat, and expressed her gratitude for the co-operation of the farming community.

But she warned farmers not to be "complacent" and to remain vigilant to ensure the country's disease-free status.

National Farmers' Union Cymru president Dai Davies welcomed the announcement, but said the union did have some concerns.

He said: "We need to see as many slaughter facilities as possible reaching the standard in order to maximise competition in the market place."

ADVICE FOR FARMERS Defra helpline: <i>0845 9335577</i>Animal health offices - Caernarfon: <i>01286 674144 </i>Carmarthen: <i>01267 245400; 07000 780144 (eve)</i>Cardiff: <i>029 2076 8500 </i>

But Iwan Price Davies, who farms 300 acres near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, said he hoped supermarkets would be sympathetic to the difficult position farmers are facing because of the continuing export ban in Europe.

"The export ban is really going to make a vast difference to the prices in the autumn," he said. "The lamb prices are going to be depressed.

"I only hope that the supermarkets and the meat trade will think that it is going to be difficult for us and rely on the home market rather than imports from abroad."

Gwyn Howells, chief executive of Meat Promotion Wales, said he believed it would be at least a month before the European Union (EU) export ban was lifted, which, he said, was a "very big worry".

People have been urged to continue visiting the countryside as normal

"We are heavily reliant on the export market," he said. "A third of all our production goes abroad in to France and Italy and unless we have that facility of exporting we will end up with imbalance on the domestic market.

"We will see 35% more produce on the market than there is demand for and therefore there will be a crisis."

Mr Howells said he would be appealing to the EU to lift the ban because of Wales' geographical distance from Surrey.

He said: "We have an audit of Welsh lamb and Welsh beef to make sure that it has integrity in the supply chain and that hopefully will give us a good stance on which to negotiate with the EU."

Mr Howells also claimed the country had been just days away from the shelves of supermarkets being empty of meat.

He said: "What that would have led to was a situation that happened in 2001 where there was a huge shortage of meat in the supply chain and supermarkets were forced to go abroad and buy longer term supplies from South American countries and elsewhere in the world."

However, Mr Bennett did say the action taken by officials in the aftermath of the outbreak had been "sensible" because farmers "could not afford another 2001", which was when many industries were hit by a foot-and-mouth outbreak.

But he did call for restrictions to continue to be lifted.

"I think Welsh farmers will want to see, every day that goes by now, a movement back to more normal trading," he said.