The company that has almost 4,700 cooperative members, the highest for nearly 80 years, also exported 40 per cent of its production "Westfleisch lived from the export boom in 2008," reported Dr Helfried Giesen, Member of the Board of Westfleisch eG, at the General Meeting held in Münster earlier this month.

Mr Giesen added: "The international orientation of Westfleisch brings significant benefits."

The results show that, in 2008, domestic and international meat sales of the Westfleisch Group were 807,925 tonnes, a 9.1 per cent increase over the previous year's figure.

Meat produced by farmers in northwest Germany is now being marketed in the People’s Republic of China through Han Wei Frozen Foods Ltd., a new cooperation with headquarters in Shanghai.