Oxfordshire's last few remaining beef farmers yesterday celebrated the end to a 10-year export ban but said it could take years to rebuild their decimated industry.

The ban on exporting British beef, which was imposed in 1996 to prevent the spread of BSE, or 'mad cow disease', officially ended yesterday.

Live cattle born after August 1, 1996, can now be exported, as can beef from cattle slaughtered after June 15, 2005. Restrictions remain for beef containing vertebral material and beef sold on the bone.

Marilyn Ivings, 67, from Mill Farm, Church Enstone, has been farming beef for 44 years.

Before the crisis, she and her husband owned about 150 head of cattle, but they were forced to sell off the majority of their herd and numbers have now diminished to about 20.

"We're highly relieved that the export ban has been lifted at last," said Mrs Ivings. "But the market before the ban was worth £675m a year and only a handful of us beef farmers remain in Oxfordshire. It is going to take a long time to build things back up."

She added: "We went from exporting cattle across the world, to just a few places in the UK the bottom literally dropped out of the market overnight."

David Passmore, 37, of Mays Farm, Wallingford, agreed: "A huge market has been lost and a lot of people have gone out of production altogether.

"But the lifting of the ban is good news, and I do feel more hopeful for the future."

The Netherlands, Greece and Italy are expected to be the first major markets for British beef. France and some other EU states have yet to amend their legislation to allow imports of UK meat.