Door open for beef imports

TALK of 106p per lb for beef in the north west by mid-April gives cattle farmers something to look forward to.

But it has not come without a cost; the EU is now on the verge of becoming a net importer of beef, so it's high time that its cattle farmers saw some promise of a financially rewarding future.

In its latest forecast for 2003 to 2010, the European Commission stated that beef consumption will exceed production in the EU for the first time in more than 20 years, and predicted a 7% rise in beef prices.