Italy imported slightly less fresh and frozen pork, year-on-year, in the first nine months 2015 but increased its intake of live pigs by more than a quarter, according to AHDB Pork.
Pork imports finished 1% down for the nine-month period, at 757,200 tonnes, with the trade being dominated by supplies from Germany, which accounted for 261,700 tonnes. That was around 35% of the total. Import value fell by 11% on the year.
Live pig imports into Italy, meanwhile, increased by more than a quarter, year-on-year, to over 1 million head in the first nine months of 2015. Most of this increase came from a rise in shipments of weaners from Denmark and, a lesser extent, Spain.
Danish pigs accounted for over half the imported total, increasing by 56% on the year.
As for exports, Italy sold 8% less pork, year on year, during the nine-month period but exported 2% more cured meat than in the same period in 2014.