The European commission ruled at an emergency meeting in Brussels that no live cattle, sheep, goats or pigs could be exported from Britain or imported. The only exemptions were for heat-treated products.

The decision will be reviewed tomorrow when Britain updates the commission on its attempts to stamp out the disease. The government's emergency incident committee, Cobra, met again yesterday and confirmed that no further cases had been reported.

The commission's spokesman, Philip Tod, said if the situation remained the same, an application could be made to designate an area near the outbreak as high-risk and allow exports of fresh milk and dead meat to resume from everywhere else. "We will be guided by the British authorities," said Mr Tod.

But officials said they expected the blanket ban on exports of live cattle to remain in place until at least three months after the last case was certified.

A long-term ban may cause the price of British meat to drop, squeezing farmers' profits. National Farmers' Union spokesman Anthony Gibson said: "We know from long and bitter experience that a ban on exports leads to very low prices. Further price cuts could be the last straw for an awful lot of people."

Britain's Meat and Livestock Commission said cattle and beef exports in 2006 were worth more than £100m. Sheep and sheep meat exports were valued at almost £250m, while pig and pork exports accounted for around £175m.

Source: Guardian Unlimited