"Most of our cull sows were exported to Germany and we also export pork for manufacturing. The re-opening of these temporarily lost markets will relieve some of the pressure in the abattoir sector."

However, there is still work to be done in markets outside the European Union, which are still closed.

"While Europe is a valuable market, British pigmeat is normally exported much further afield - markets such as Japan and Korea. Negotiations will have to take place with each country individually and BPEX will be continuing to support the work of Defra to achieve this as soon as possible.

"These are countries which take offals and residual cuts which have little value in the United Kingdom - or may even incur a disposal cost - but can command a premium overseas."