Portugal's farmers are bracing themselves for the imposition of a ban on cattle and beef exports to the rest of the European Union.

The European Commission decided on the embargo in the light of an upsurge this year in Portugal in the number of cases of BSE, the so-called mad cow disease.

A team of veterinary experts also found gaps in Portugal's system of ensuring that meal manufactured for cattle contains no meat or bones.

Portugal is threatening to take the Commission to the European Court of Justice over the proposed nine-month ban on beef and 18-month ban on cattle exports.

Long incubation

It is the first time a continental European country has been hit by such an EU embargo.

That in itself, according to Portugal's government, shows that the decision is political and not scientific.

Ireland had more cases of BSE last year than Portugal does this year, yet European agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler did not suggest a ban on Irish exports then.

The number of cases in Portugal was expected to increase slightly before declining again, because of the long incubation period of the disease.

The crux of the problem, farmers say, is that the government did not ensure that the system of checks functioned properly, so even where a factory making meal for cattle meets the highest standards, there is no watertight proof of that fact.

The farmers union is talking about suing the government for its alleged negligence.

Although Portugal's exports of cattle and beef are small as a proportion of total production, some farmers face ruin as a result of the ban.