The first consignment of calves left Pembroke-shire bound for the Continent on Thursday in a week when farmers were given the green light to resume live exports.

Anglo European Farmers says around 100 calves from the region were transferred from an assembly point in Carmarthen to the ferry port at Dover.

The boat was carrying 700 calves sourced from across Britain, said Elwyn Morse, of Templeton, who is a director of Anglo European Farmers Ltd.

He said farmers were being paid an average of £55 for Friesian/Holstein bull calves and £75 for Friesians, animals which previously had little or no value.

"There is a good demand on the Continent for these calves," said Mr Morse, who spent Friday in France talking to buyers.

He said the co-operative had received good support from farmers in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion but only 12 farmers in Pembrokeshire had signed up as members.

He believed this was due to other marketing initiatives and ways of selling calves and also the membership fee which farmers were being asked to pay.

However, membership is vital to keep down the costs associated with exporting the calves, stressed Mr Morse. "We need to build up a critical mass to make the ferry pay,'' he said.

The export ban was brought in ten years ago by the European Commission to prevent the spread of BSE.

With a restricted market and competition pressures on the high street, the wholesale price of beef has fallen, with the average price per kilo now under £2, compared to £2.46 in 1996.

The export ban, too, has seen the market for mature beef disappear altogether, with the payments from a government compensation scheme only worth about 20% of 1996 prices.