The UK has received its largest ever export order from China for frozen boar semen, in a deal which also involves training Chinese staff in artificial insemination (AI) and semen handling.
Deerpark Pedigree Pigs in Northern Ireland has secured the order which will ship in January and be followed by further consignments over the months and years ahead.
The Londonderry company's success, owned by brothers Nigel and Robert Overend, was supported by the Department for International Trade (DIT) and UK Tag, the export arm of the British Pig Association (BPA).
The most recent Chinese order for 2,000 straws will follow smaller shipments.
“This customer started with a small order of 100 straws in order to test the water,” says Nigel Overend. “When they were confident they would achieve high conception rates, they moved on to much larger orders.”
Semen from these shipments will be largely destined for Chinese multiplication units which produce high genetic merit breeding stock for commercial herds.
“In many cases, the technicians trained by Deerpark are achieving conception rates far beyond anything they have had from any other country before,” adds Robert Overend.
Chinese interest
In total, the company has seen a 300 per cent increase in its frozen semen sales over the past two years.
A large proportion of this growth is attributed to export orders, a demand which has developed as China increasingly looks at the UK for agricultural expertise and products.
Their presence in Asian exhibitions has been supported by the BPA, the UK government’s DIT as well as embassies around the world.
“It’s proven to be very successful for us and with the uncertainty over Brexit, it will be more important in the future to be seen on the international stage,” the brothers explain.
Levy board AHDB has identified China as a ‘very high’ potential market for UK pig meat exports and it is already the UK’s biggest customer outside the EU, importing 40,000 tonnes of UK pork and 36,000 tonnes of UK offal in 2016.
In November, the UK was given the green light to ship pigs’ trotters to China.
