December 6, 2013
UK seals £45-million deal to export pig semen to China
Britain has made a deal worth £45 million (US$73.51 million) to export frozen and fresh pig semen to China from the first quarter of 2014, according to The Guardian.
Four UK artificial insemination centres based in England and Northern Ireland will start making preparations for the exports in the new year.
Although China houses half of the world's pig population, the country is in need to improve pig genetics. A government source said that China has an interest to increase the efficiency of their production, while minimising the environmental impact of increased production.
A government source said, "UK porcine semen will be key to help the Chinese improve their pig production and make the industry more productive in the long term. The quantities are not the important factor for this trade; it is the quality that is important."
British environment secretary, Owen Paterson, who was accompanying prime minister David Cameron on his trip to China, has also embarked on negotiations to export pig trotters to China, a delicacy in this region.
