Shipments were up 12 percent year-on-year in the Netherlands in 2008, with a total of 3.7 million pigs exported, according to statistics shown by German market and price reporting agency.

About 85 percent of exports were destined for Germany, 270,000 more than the 2007 total.

Exports to Hungary and Poland also increased in substantial numbers, with Poland seeing a ten-fold increase and exports to Hungary quadrupled.

Italy however saw a 50 percent drop in Dutch exports and Belgium acquired bought 60 percent less pigs from the Netherlands than in 2007.

Dutch piglet exports fell by around 2.5 percent to 4.9 million head, with Germany buying around half of total.

By contrast, exports to Poland almost doubled to reach 508,000 head due to the declining pig herd in the eastern EU country.