Members of the Meat Industry Forum have started work on a recovery plan for the sector. A preliminary meeting of the forum, sponsored by the MLC, IGD, and key government departments, took place on Tuesday. It was attended by representatives from across the industry. The MLC, which is acting as the secretariat for the forum, is now taking key points from the first meeting and turning them into terms of reference and objectives for the forum. "Then a series of working groups comprising the relevant experts from inside and without the industry will be set up to explore practical cost effective responses to specific issues," said an MLC spokesman. One participant hoped the proposals would be agreed by the end of next week and a "small, tight number" of working parties agreed soon after. He expected the forum to have completed its work within six months ­ well ahead of anything that could come out of the food and farming commission planned by Labour. The meeting came as the EU's veterinary commitee gave the all-clear for Northern Ireland to resume exporting live animals and food products banned due to foot and mouth disease. While Northern Ireland has benefited from regional status, the mainland industry is still divided over whether it should go down this route. MLC International manager Peter Hardwick said a regional approach was probably the quickest way of ensuring at least some meat is exported by the end of the year. National Farmers' Union commodities chief Simon Lunnis said there were serious concerns about how such a scheme would work in practice. "For out and out disease free areas, you need borders around them, even setting up checkpoints manned by police 24 hours a day. This could prove extremely onerous." {{NEWS }}