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Embassy consulted over UK beef ban

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has asked for the opinion of Pakistan embassy in Belgium, before lifting ban on the import of beef from the United Kingdom.

According to sources, a letter has been sent to the embassy requesting to assess the decision of the European Commission announced on July 14,1999, allowing the export of the UK beef and its derivatives produced under the data base export scheme (DBES) after August 1,1999.

Final decision on the British request is likely to be taken after the ministry receives a reply from the Pakistan embassy in Belgium.

The British government had earlier asked Pakistan to lift the ban on the import of beef and its allied products from the UK and the Northern Ireland.

The ban was imposed on the import of livestock, beef and its allied products from the UK and the Northern Ireland in July 1998 amid reports of the 'mad cow disease'.

The UK has mentioned in its communique that the European Commission had announced on July 14, 1999, that the export of the UK beef and allied products produced under the data base export scheme (DBES) could start from August 1, 1999.

Sources informed that the country does not import livestock or meat from abroad. Only Friesian and New Jersy cows (including dairy animals and their specimen) are imported for cross-breeding purposes to improve and uplift the genetic potential of local nondescript cows.

Sources said that the UK wants us to lift the ban so as to use it as a diplomatic tool against those European countries which are still reluctant to lift the ban on the import of the UK beef, despite the recommendations of the European Commission, based upon DBES system.