The UK has agreed to start exporting £45m worth of pig semen to China from next year, in one of the latest deals clinched by David Cameron during his trade visit to the country.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: "We're doing all we can to ensure that businesses up and down the country reap the rewards from our relationship with China. And that includes our pig farmers.
"This new deal to export pig semen will be worth £45m to UK firms and means Britain's best pigs will help sustain the largest pig population in the world.
"And we're not stopping there, we're talking to the Chinese about serving up pigs trotters on Beijing's finest dining tables. That would be a real win-win - a multi-million pound boost for Britain and a gastronomic treat for Chinese diners.”
Four artificial insemination centres in England and Northern Ireland are set to start exporting fresh and frozen pig semen from early 2014. China has half of the world's pigs but has sought to improve their pigs' genetics.
Britain's burgeoning pig semen exports come alongside the country's bovine semen market, which helps artificially inseminate cows. Interested markets include Kenya and Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and the Falkland Islands.
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Open Image ModalLondon Bridge, built in 1825, was flogged off in 1968 by the City of London to American oil man Robert McCulloch for nearly $2.5 million. McCullouch, from Missouri, had the bridge taken apart and shipped overseas to California, then brought by truck to Arizona, where it was rebuilt brick by brick at Lake Havasu City - which is where it still stands today .
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Open Image ModalHaggis (03 of10)
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Sea salt(06 of10)
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Open Image ModalTelephone boxes (10 of10)
Open Image ModalRed telephone boxes have travelled around the world and found themselves homes in many places.Ten telephone boxes were bought from the UK by the Israeli city of Petah Tikva for its main street, Haim Ozer. Malta, Gozo, Antigua, Barbados, Cyprus and the French town of Chinon have bought red telephone boxes.