Defra has confirmed that beef exports, including pedigree and commercial cattle, from the UK to other EU countries will begin on Wednesday May 3rd 2006 after a notice has been published in the Official Journal of the European Commission on April 29th.

Beef from cattle born before August 1st 1996 and from cattle slaughtered before June 2005 cannot be exported. Only live cattle born after July 1996 can be exported.

Confirmation of Wednesday May 3rd as the start date gives the UK beef industry a target to work to. Some slaughter cattle have already been purchased by traders with export customers and more are expected to be bought next week.

“This means that supermarket buyers, who since March 20 th 1996 have dominated domestic price structures, will at last face serious competition from traders selling beef into high priced EU markets,” said NBA chief executive Robert Forster .

“As a result the value of slaughter cattle in the UK can be expected to rise as more beef from both prime animals and commercial cows is sold overseas and the grip the multiple retailers have had on slaughter cattle values begins to slacken.”

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