MALTON pig breeding firm Newsham Hybrid Pigs Ltd reports that bumper exports mean it is heading for one of its best ever years overseas. Exports are up 21pc for the first six months of the year, compared to the same period three years ago - before the industry went into decline.

A spokesman for the company said that although recent outbreaks of swine fever would inevitably have long-term effects on exports to some overseas countries, the bulk of Newsham's business came from EU countries - namely Belgium, Germany and Spain, where the effects were likely to be minimal.