Volume 10: Economic Impact and International Trade
6. The export of live cattle, beef, and bovine semen and embryos
Beef
Exports to EU Member States
Exports to non-EU countries

Exports to EU Member States

6.15 A number of the measures introduced by the EU in response to BSE up to March 1996 were designed to restrict the export of beef from the UK. The first of these was Commission Decision 90/261/EEC. ¹ This Decision required that exports of bone-in beef from the UK carry additional certification that the meat in question did not come from cattle from holdings in which BSE had been confirmed within the previous two years. In addition, all bone-out (boneless) beef was required to carry certification that all 'obvious nervous and lymphatic tissue' had been removed.

6.16 In May 1990 the number of herds affected with BSE had risen to 7,102. ² This represented approximately 6 per cent of the total holdings of beef and dairy cattle at that time. As a consequence of Decision 90/261/EEC, none of the affected holdings was permitted to provide bone-in fresh meat for the EU export market. This would have had a significant impact on BSE-affected holdings that had previously exploited this market.

6.17 Overall it appears that Decision 90/261/EEC did have a detrimental effect on exports of UK beef to the EU. Total exports of bone-in beef and bone-out beef were significantly lower in 1990 and 1991 than they had been in 1989. However, as shown in Figure 6.3 and 6.4, exports in both categories eventually recovered so that in 1994 they were more than double their value in 1989.

6.18 On 27 July 1994 Commission Decision 94/474/EEC introduced further restrictions on UK exports of bone-in beef. It required that export bone-in beef come only from cattle certified not to have been on holdings where BSE had been confirmed in the preceding six years. For bone-out beef it required the removal of adherent tissues including obvious nervous or lymphatic tissues. ³

6.19 Decision 94/474/EEC was relaxed a few months later in respect of bone-in beef. Commission Decision 94/794, adopted on 14 December 1994, provided a new exemption so as to exclude from the ban beef from cattle born after 1 January 1992. On 18 July 1995 Commission Decision 95/287 was introduced. The exemption of cattle born before 1 January 1992 was modified so that it applied to beef from cattle less than 30 months old at the time of slaughter.

6.20 By 1994 BSE had affected 28,819 farms ⁴ out of a total 112,600 ⁵ holdings in the UK - roughly 25 per cent of UK herds. However, it appears that neither the changes in July 1994 nor those in December and the following July had any measurable impact on the volume of bone-in beef exports. As can be seen in Figure 6.3 below, bone-in beef exports to the EU in 1994 were substantially up on those in 1993 and this upward trend continued in 1995.

Figure 6.3: Exports of bone-in beef to the EU, 1986-96

6.21 The other feature of Decision 94/474/EEC, which provoked substantial export concern and controversy at the time, was the requirement that all adherent tissue including that which might conceal nervous or lymphatic tissues be removed from cuts of bone-out beef. The Commission's interpretation of this provision was that it required the removal of all external fat from the meat. Had that interpretation prevailed, the market value of the beef would have been substantially diminished. ⁶ MAFF's interpretation was that it required removing only those tissues which would prevent a Member State from checking that all obvious lymphatic tissue had been removed. ⁷ This interpretation was communicated to State Veterinary Staff field staff and to the CVOs of Member States. ⁸

6.22 The Commission's interpretation might have caused problems for the beef trade, especially in relation to intervention stocks. However, no Member State insisted on the interpretation being applied and the trade in bone-less beef continued without interruption. ⁹ The cutting procedures used in UK abbatoirs and plants were specifically endorsed by the ScVC in November 1994, ¹⁰ and the issue was resolved by Commission Decision 95/287/EC. This specified in detail the lymphatic tissue which had to be removed and did not require the removal of surface fat from the meat. ¹¹

6.23 Again, the new requirements governing the export of bone-out beef appear to have had no adverse impact on the level of exports. The statistics set out in Figure 6.4 show that bone-out beef exports to EU countries more than doubled in 1994, compared with 1993, and continued to rise in 1995.

Figure 6.4: Exports of bone-out beef to the EU, 1986-96

Exports to non-EU countries

6.24 By February 1991 the following countries had imposed a ban on UK beef exports: Algeria, Bahrain, Brazil, China, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the USSR, Egypt and Canada. ¹²

6.25 Other non-EU countries imposed certification conditions on UK beef exports. Cyprus, Hong Kong and the Ivory Coast required certification that the bovine meat was not from holdings in which BSE had been confirmed in the previous three years, and that during the cutting process for bone-in beef, obvious nervous and lymphatic tissues had been removed. Austria prohibited frozen and chilled meat which was not free from bones and obvious lymph and nerve tissues. Mexico and Malta also imposed restrictions concerning nervous and lymphatic tissue, and required certification that the bovine meat was not from holdings where there had been a suspect or confirmed case of BSE. ¹³

6.26 Some of the non-EU countries that had placed bans on imports began to relax the restrictions by 1993. In 1986 Brazil and Egypt had been the largest importers of bone-out beef from the UK. Such imports were banned entirely in 1991. After 1993, however, they started importing again from the UK, albeit at significantly lower levels than previously.

6.27 Figure 6.5 and 6.6 below show that, even before the emergence of BSE, exports of bone-in beef to non-EU countries were small. In 1987 the UK exported approximately 15,000 tonnes of bone-in beef to non-EU countries. After the emergence of BSE, this market almost entirely disappeared. The level of exports of bone-out beef to non-EU countries appears already to have been falling before the emergence of BSE. There was a considerable drop in exports between 1986 and 1987 and exports fell further in 1988, the first year in which BSE was likely to have had an impact. However, exports began to recover in 1993 and by 1995 had reached 1986 levels.

Figure 6.5: Exports of bone-in beef to non-EU countries, 1986-96

Figure 6.6: Exports of bone-out beef to non-EU countries, 1986-96