Two more cases of foot and mouth disease were found in Cumbria on Monday, one of them the latest in a very recent series discovered in an area previously thought free of the disease. Like the case identified in Brecon on June 23, this raised new doubts as to the validity of DEFRA's claim the epidemic is under control. The implications for most processors and retailers of an unexpectedly long tail' to the epidemic are limited by the relative success of measures designed to improve the availability of livestock for slaughter outside the hardest hit areas. However, on Tuesday a statement issued by MLC director general Gwyn Howells revealed continuing official concern at the indirect effects on the industry and its markets. "Although much of the publicity has died down, FMD has not yet been eradicated and it is vital for everyone to keep taking careful precautions against it," Howells warned. "We all want our extremely important markets in Europe and around the world to be reopened as soon as possible." Sentiment within the MLC seems to have deteriorated in recent weeks, senior staff now believing the bans on exports of beef and lamb will probably last well into next year. The impact on the beef trade will be minimal, as home production will remain low and the industry had not regained significant overseas business after the original BSE export ban was lifted two years ago anyway. However, the blockage of lamb exports is expected to flood the domestic market with up to 40,000 tonnes of surplus product in the next few months, and a continuation of the ban into a second season could cause catastrophe for the sector. In the pork market, where the ban is causing trouble by trapping in the UK sow carcases and other manufacturing pigmeat traditionally shipped to the continent, the MLC statement indicated talks were continuing with the aim of winning permission to export from areas not affected by the disease. This is a contentious issue in the industry, critics of the strategy claiming it would create logistical difficulty and expense because official monitoring of pig and pigmeat movement within the UK would be necessary. {{M/E MEAT }}