March 6, 2007

Zimbabwe shelves beef exports to EU
 

Zimbabwe has put on hold plans to resume beef exports to the European Union after Brussels introduced stringent pre-export requirements, an official said on Monday.

Zimbabwe Veterinary Services principal director Stuart Hagreaves said one of their main concerns is the EU's requirement to have all cattle farm identifications and dipping tank of origin through ear tagging which is costly, considering the country is undergoing economic crisis.

Zimbabwe stopped beef exports to Europe and Asia in 2001 after an outbreak of the deadly foot-and-mouth disease, but continued sales to neighbouring countries. It used to export some 9000 tonnes of beef a year to Europe but production has taken a battering with Zimbabwe's commercial herd decreasing from 1.5 million at its peak to 250 000 in recent years, according to official figures.