Local beef supply may continue to face challenges for the next 5 years as Bovine Tuberculosis remains a threat to the cattle industry.

Fiji Dairy Industry Company Limited Chairman Simon Cole says that the disease is not only affecting milk production but also impacting beef supply.

“What we are seeing is the rate of infection to TB is going down, and that’s the first sign that we are getting on top of this disease, that does not mean to say we are not going to lose more cows, we are still going to lose more cows from the dairy industry and also from the beef industry, we’ll still lose more cow to the infection of TB because the treatment is to slaughter the animal”.

Fiji imports most of its beef from Australia and New Zealand and local efforts to substitute this with local supply has struggled.