Crisis will cost £3.6bn
Crisis will cost £3.6bn
FOOT-AND-MOUTH will cost UK livestock farmers and their suppliers about £3.6bn over the next two years, according to estimates by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
The figure assumes the number of new cases peaks at the end of March and restrictions on movements in the countryside start to be eased from mid-April.
"Farm incomes will continue to be affected into 2002 through lost trade and the impact of lost export markets – estimated to be a cost of about £1bn – will last for even longer," says senior economist Paul Crawford. "But the longer the crisis goes on the bigger the long-term effects, as costs to the industry start to multiply."
The overall economic cost for 2001 is put at £9bn, including £5bn in lost income from foreign tourism.
"Even after foot-and-mouth is eradicated it is likely that the effects will last for several years," adds Mr Crawford.
The long-term cost of rebuilding UK dairy and beef sectors post-foot-and-mouth has been estimated at £330m by the Dairy Information and Policy Unit. The figure assumes a 2% and 3% cull in dairy and beef herds, respectively.
They will take five and seven years to recover, at a cost of £150m and £180m apiece. *