COPENHAGEN: Denmark exported almost two per cent more pig meat in the first nine months of 2014 than the year before, despite the Russian ban.
Danish exports of fresh and frozen pig meat for the period January to September 2014 reached 828,000 tonnes, which is 15,500 tonnes or 1.9 per cent more than the same period of the previous year.
The German meat association, VDF, stressed this was in spite of the ban by Russia on imports of pig meat from EU member states and other countries.
Deliveries to Germany, the top destination for Danish meat, were 3.1 per cent higher at 262,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, second-placed Poland took 11.1 per cent less than the previous year at 91,800 tonnes but the UK took 13.4 per cent more for a total of 81,000 tonnes.
Russian imports of Danish pig meat over the period were down by almost four per cent at just 3,700 tonnes. This compares with 40,300 tonnes in 2012 and 56,500 tonnes in 2013.
Contributing to the overall 1.8 per cent increase in Danish pig meat exports to third-countries – which totalled 239,400 tonnes for January to September 2014 – were increased sales to Japan (108,500 tonnes: +27.0 per cent), Australia (38,700 tonnes; +53.6 per cent) and China (+5.0 per cent).
