BRITISH beef farmers had their first bit of good news in years when the European Commission, in a unanimous vote, declared British beef safe.

This is not the end of the battle but it is certainly akin to clearing the main hurdle.

The two-year export ban has cost this country at least £1.5 billion and more than 1,000 jobs.

Much of this was down to the inept handling of the situation by the Government of the day in the early stages of the BSE outbreak.

Key markets, such as those in Germany, France and Italy, disappeared overnight and when the ban is finally lifted, probably in the autumn, British beef farmers will have to start from scratch.

It will take many years to reclaim those markets, even in countries where British beef was considered to be the best money could buy.

It is not only the farmers who have suffered.

Businesses connected with the beef industry, both retail and wholesale, have crashed at alarming rates, taking with them valuable jobs.

The farmers who face a long, uphill struggle to re-establish their overseas markets can be forgiven for not appearing too euphoric over the latest news from Brussels.

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.