Pictured on his first visit to the Eurotier agricultural show in Hanover, Hugh Mortimer, Deputy Head of Mission at the Berlin Embassy (left) meets up with an ex-patriot Aberdeen Angus bull, Ron McHattie, Chief Executive of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society (centre) and Andrew Garvey, Head of Marketing, English Beef and Lamb Executive in the British Livestock Pavilion.

THOUSANDS of British cattle and pigs will be on their way to Russia as the result of orders placed at the giant Eurotier Show in Hanover, Germany this week.

Two British Livestock Pavilions, with more than 50 livestock companies and breed societies taking part, proved an unparalleled hit with buyers and drew in new export business worth thousands of pounds.

Among firm orders already received are:

• 4,000 top quality breeding gilt pigs to Russia.
• 3,000 Holstein heifers to Russia to be followed by sexed semen.
• 250 sows to Kazakhstan.
• 100 Holstein heifers to the Netherlands.
• 4,000 straws of British Limousin semen to Germany, the Ukraine, Bulgaria and Turkey and 6,000 straws of Belgian Blue to Germany
• 30 Angus heifers to Germany.
• Ten Shropshire ewes to Germany.

Jean-Pierre Garnier, MLC Export Manager, said: "These orders have exceeded our most optimistic estimates.

"We wanted to signal that Britain is back as a major player in international livestock markets and I think we have had quite some success in that direction."

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