THE promotion of an English brand for beef and lamb is a key and urgent aim of the new body.

David Croston, chief executive, said it was working to re-capture and "grow" the market as much as possible.

England produced the lion's share of UK beef and lamb. "Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic pose strong competition," he said. "They already have strong brands, but the majority of UK consumers are English and in England.

"Our strategy is to grow the market share of English beef and lamb. I know there is a lot of interest in regional brands and we are very much taking this into our thinking as we come up with an English brand."

Mr Croston said the big difference between the Meat and Livestock Commission and the new body was that Eblex represented only England.

The meeting heard that, before 1995, only 30pc of beef went out of the country; 70pc stayed in England and Eblex wanted to get back to that position by displacing imported beef.

Andrew Garvey, Eblex communications and marketing director, said an English brand was needed to make it stand out to English consumers. "We want them to recognise that English beef and lamb gives them certain assurances," he said.

Kevin Pearce, board member and NFU chief livestock adviser, said: "By developing a proper brand for England we can capture our own market."

Mr Croston said Eblex was working with Scotland and Wales on the return of over 30-month cattle to the market, as it was a UK-wide issue. He denied their return would mean doom and disaster for the market.

The meeting was told that 36 abattoirs contacted about OTM beef said they would take it and already had customers who could take more than 7,000 animals a week. It was estimated that the scheme would put forward only 11,000 animals.

Board members denied rumours that farmers would have to pay to have their OTM cattle tested.