As British beef heads to Europe for the first time in 19 months, farmers say the cost of the ban to the industry has been huge and could take years to recover.

There is going to be a lot of work to do once the ban is lifted to regain the market

National Farmers' Union

This week's exports are the first since the European Commission banned the meat following the foot and mouth crisis in February 2001.

However, at that time farmers were only just recovering from an earlier ban on exports, between 1996 and 1999, after the BSE outbreak.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) told BBC News Online that it has effectively been six years since farmers enjoyed full export levels, and that the psychological barriers could now be as hard to lift as the physical ones.

French objections

Before the first ban on British beef in March1996, farmers were exporting 274,000 tonnes of beef a year, with a value of about �520m.

The majority of this was being shipped to France, which spent �240m on British beef in 1995.

The UK has lurched from one beef crisis to another

When the ban was lifted in August 1999, France refused to lift its ban and farmers had an uphill struggle recovering export sales elsewhere in Europe.

A spokeswoman for the NFU said: "BSE scares in Europe had lowered consumption of beef generally, so we were fighting against that as well."

The French insistence on keeping the ban did not help.

"Farmers lost out on a massive market," said the NFU.

Export sales had crept back to just 50,000 tonnes, less than one-fifth of their previous value, by the time the foot and mouth outbreak erupted in 2001 and the next ban was imposed.

Long road to the table

This week's exports mark the first step in what the Meat and Livestock Commission said will be "starting right back again".

The ban on British exports was actually lifted last September but with a number of tough rules and regulations making it uneconomical for farmers to resume selling abroad.

Two key bright spots have since sparked optimism.

The MLC said the most awkward condition was the Date-based Export Scheme, which meant abattoirs had to be completely dedicated to exports for these to be allowed.

This has since been eased by the EC.

And the French food agency (AFSSA) ruled last week that British beef is as safe as any other beef on the market.

This ruling makes it almost impossible for France not to lift its six-year ban in the near future.

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Changing perceptions of British beef could take slightly longer.

The NFU says there has been a "stigma" attached to the meat since the French refusal to resume imports.

The Netherlands, Italy and Belgium have already indicated their support for British beef.

"There is going to be a lot of work to do once the ban is lifted to regain the market," said the NFU.