Pig semen, Piers Morgan and other slightly embarrassing British exports

David Cameron's terribly proud of his £45m sale of porcine semen to China – and why should he be red-faced? Many of Britain's other exports are a lot more ludicrousOne of the great successes of David Cameron's trip to China was an agreement to sell the country £45m-worth of British pig semen. It's good news for British exports in general, but not necessarily a deal you'd care to boast about during prime minister's questions. Of course pig semen is not the only embarrassing export to leave these shores. Here are just a few more.Other kinds of semen The UK exports bovine semen to countries including France, Kenya, Indonesia and Albania. Britain also exports dog semen and horse semen, and imports red-deer semen.Empty boxesRising paper prices have created a lucrative market for recycled cardboard, especially in China. Basically, when China ships a new TV to the UK, we sell them back the box it came in, which they use to make a new box. It's green, efficient and rather canny, but it's a little embarrassing that even our exported empty boxes are being imported back, only full.Bendy busesThe much-maligned bendy bus was removed from London's streets at the end of 2011, but the manufacturer, Arrive, sold a whole fleet to Malta, where they proved just as unpopular. Service was suspended in the summer after three of the buses caught fire.Midsomer MurdersThe Oxfordshire-set murder mystery series has proved popular in the US, Canada and Australia. It's also the most watched imported T...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: The Guardian Blogposts Farming Asia Pacific World news Piers Morgan China Features Crime drama Environment Business Agriculture Science Source Type: news