Beef exports suspended over foot-and-mouth

Zimbabwe has suspended beef exports after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Agriculture Permanent Secretary Ngoni Masoka said in a statement that the disease had been detected at a feedlot of the state-owned beef corporation near the second city of Bulawayo, in the mainly ranching province of Matabeleland.

“The Department of Veterinary Services has reported, from clinical observations, an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease within the Cold Storage Company’s (CSC) Willsgrove Feedlot, to the east of Bulawayo,” he was quoted as saying. According to the report, the government said it had taken steps to isolate and eradicate the disease, including restricting cattle movement and large-scale farm inspections, but had temporarily stopped all beef exports. “As a precautionary measure, beef exports to the European Union and other markets have been suspended until the situation is clear. This position will remain until the source of the infection has been established,” Masoka was quoted as saying.

The CSC, Zimbabwe’s sole beef exporting agency, had an annual export quota of 9,100 mt to the EU and about 5,000 mt to South Africa, the report said, adding that it also exported meat to other African countries.