RANDERS, Denmark – Keep calm, and carry on. That was the message from Danish Crown following a historic vote in Great Britain to leave the European Union.

More than 50 percent of Britons voted to leave the EU, while 48.1 percent voted to remain in the bloc. Great Britain had been a member state for more than 40 years. Danish Crown said the idea of Great Britain leaving the EU was “to most people completely unimaginable. Now it is a fact and Danish Crown will have to relate to this reality,” the company said in a statement.

 Søren Tinggaard, associate vice president, Danish Crown Export, said the company will survive the market unrest. Following the vote, financial markets plunged.

“Short term we will surpass most of the foreign exchange unrest as a large share of our sales to Great Britain will be by contract, which will be set for some months to come,” Tinggaard said. “During this period we will naturally follow the situation closely.”

The company said its ability to source hogs from Denmark and Great Britain works to Danish Crown’s advantage. However, the company is uncertain about how much meat will be processed at Danish facilities, and how much pork will come from the 16 plants the company operates through its subsidiary, Tulip Ltd. Danish Crown noted that the company has access to markets for pork in more than 130 countries.

Going forward, Tinggaard said, “…it is pivotal that Europe set the price level of pork in Great Britain.”

“The preferred scenario to Danish Crown is for the trade between Great Britain and Denmark to remain more or less on unchanged terms,” he explained. “We strongly believe that the British will also in future have an appetite for Danish bacon and we therefore take the liberty of being relatively optimistic.”