Foot-and-mouth disease has hit business confidence in Northern Ireland, a survey published by the CBI today said.
It said the outbreak in the North, which has had only four confirmed cases to date, had "seriously affected" companies' business confidence and further weakened confidence in the North's economy.
Assistant director of CBI Northern Ireland Ms Deirdre Stewart said: "It is clear that the foot-and-mouth outbreak is seen as a serious problem far beyond the agri-food sector, which has obviously been directly affected.
"Both the service sector and other areas of manufacturing are reporting its negative impact on business."
But she said, somewhat surprisingly, market demand in the North had risen across all sectors but that demand in all other markets was falling.
PA