At the same time, the value of these exports fell by just under 9 per cent, to €528 million. This was due to the average price falling by just under 3 per cent. The EU remained the largest market for Danish exports, and a 14 per cent fall in export volumes here assisted in bringing down the overall export levels.

Only exports to the UK recorded a rise, up 1 per cent, while shipment levels to Germany, Poland and Italy fell by 14 per cent, 11 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

Exports to non-EU markets grew in the first quarter of 2016 versus the year earlier, up 15 per cent to 87 thousand tonnes.

This growth was predominantly due to shipment levels to China more than doubling in that period. Japanese shipments also recorded a modest growth, while exports to Australia and the United States both recorded a 4 per cent decrease on 2015 levels.

Danish live pig exports fell back slightly in the first quarter of 2016, by 2 per cent to 3.1 million head. 9 per cent fewer pigs were shipped to Germany, while Polish levels remained largely static. The introduction of the Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) regulations in the EU in April 2015 may have had an effect on the volume of live trade.