Botswana resumes beef exports to EU after foot-and-mouth ban

Botswana partly lifted a ban on exports of beef and related products to the European Union after suspending trade in August to control an outbreak of foot-and-month disease.

Exports will be allowed from cattle bred in seven of the country’s 19 agricultural zones, with some areas closest to where an outbreak was detected remaining under suspension, the Ministry of Agriculture said in an emailed statement on Monday.

The decision comes after the government announced in September it would cull more than 10,000 cattle in the affected region, while also quarantining and vaccinating others to contain the disease.

Earlier this month, the Agriculture Ministry eased movement restrictions on cattle around the country, stating that its containment efforts were working.

Cattle exports are a key source of foreign currency for Botswana, after minerals and tourism, and the southern African nation is a major supplier of beef to European countries.