Disease fright for Argentine cattle

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON agricultural editor

New Zealand meat officials are taking no comfort from a foot-and-mouth disease setback for rival beef exporter Argentina.

The South American country, the world's fifth-largest beef producer, has been on the brink of gaining access to global markets only since May, when, after two decades of an eradication programme, it was internationally recognised as free of foot-and-mouth.

But on August 2, Argentine officials temporarily banned exports of fresh beef after the detection of the foot-and-mouth virus in a small group of cattle that are believed to have crossed the border from Paraguay, possibly illegally.

Liz Francis, Meat New Zealand market manager for beef, said the industry here felt "quite sympathetic to Argentina. They have made a huge effort [to eradicate the disease].

"There is no satisfaction in this for us. It could happen to anyone," she said, pointing to the bee-killing Varroa mite outbreak in New Zealand as evidence of our own vulnerability to biosecurity breaches.

Argentina did not call the detection an outbreak, saying it was uncertain whether the animals tested positive because they were carriers or because they had been vaccinated.

Nevertheless, the Government moved aggressively, shooting more than 3000 cattle in the past week that had come in contact with the animals, and imposing a quarantine on some provinces.

In 1997, the US declared Argentina's herd of 50 million cattle free of foot-and-mouth so long as the country abided by a vaccination programme. The declaration opened the US market to fresh Argentine beef for the first time in decades.

Previously Argentina, along with Uruguay, had been allowed to export beef to the US and Canada under quotas reserved for the Latin American countries after the World Trade Organisation Uruguay Round agreed to let parts of a country be declared free of the disease with or without vaccination.

North America is a key market for New Zealand beef, and this year Argentina hoped to emerge as a big player closer to New Zealand's patch in the Pacific.

A reimposition of long-lasting sanitary restrictions would be a serious economic setback for Argentina, which is trying to promote beef, wine and other products in new markets worldwide.