EU pork exports achieved another record high in June, hitting a total of 236,800 tonnes, according to AHDB Pork.
This was 70% up on June 2015, and a little under 10,000 tonnes more than the previous high point which was reached in April this year.
“As has been the case all year, sales to China drove the growth, with more than half of total exports destined for that market,” said AHDB Pork. “Hong Kong and the US also took more than twice as much EU pork as a year earlier.”
While the value of EU shipments rose by more than half, year-on-year, to €514.5 million (£445.85m), and EU pig prices continued to rise, the price per tonne for exported product was still slightly down on last year.
Even so, the latest figures took total exports for the first half of the year to 1.2 million tonnes, nearly 60% up on the same period last year, while total export value rose by €800m (£693m), year-on-year, to just under €2.6 billion (£2.25m).