Following a sharp fall in 2012, Dutch exports of fresh and frozen pig meat for the January to September period of 2013 were down by 36,800 tonnes or 6.5 per cent from the previous year at 527,500 tonnes, reports the German meat association, VDF.

Deliveries to other EU countries were 428,500 tonnes, which is 38,900 tonnes (8.3 per cent) less than the same period of 2012.

The main EU destination for Dutch pork is Italy, which took around 17 per cent of the total exported by the Netherlands to the EU. Deliveries to Italy were down by almost six per cent to 90,000 tonnes, while those to Germany were 15.6 per cent lower at 73,500 tonnes. The figure for Greece was unchanged from the year before at 70,500 tonnes, while the volume exported to the UK was down by more than 14 per cent to 43,200 tonnes.

An increase of 2.1 per cent or 2,000 tonnes was achieved in exports to non-EU countries for the nine-month period compared to 2012, totalling almost 99,000 tonnes.

Reduction in the volumes of Dutch pig meat destined for South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia were more than compensated by an increase to Russia - from 6,000 tonnes in the 2012 period to 20,200 tonnes in 2013.