Belgium is a net exporter of pig meat, according to the German meat association, VDF. Around 60 per cent of production is exported.

For the first six months of 2014, the volume of fresh and frozen pig meat leaving the country was down by 3,600 tonnes or one per cent at 347,400 tonnes.

The bulk of this volume was destined for other EU countries and particularly Germany, which took around 40 per cent of the total or 139,500 tonnes. This represents a reduction of 2.6 per cent from the same period of last year.

Second destination for Belgian pig meat is Poland, accounting for about 23 per cent of the exported volume. For the first six months of this year, that amounted to 81,700 tonnes, almost 19 per cent more than in the same period of 2013.

At 23,400 and 16,300 tonnes, respectively, Belgian pig meat exports to the Netherlands and Italy were lower for the first half-year of 2014 than the year before. The UK took 13,300 tonnes, almost the same as in 2013.

The value of Belgium's pig meat exports over this period was down by about four per cent to €647 million.