Spain has recorded its first cases of African swine fever since 1994 after two wild pigs found dead near Barcelona tested positive for the virus, the Spanish Agriculture Ministry said on Monday, as quoted by Reuters.
The outbreak could threaten exports to China, which have surged thanks to Madrid's efforts to curry favor with Beijing and increase its market share in the Asian country.
However, the ban could be limited after China and Spain reached an agreement this month that means Beijing will restrict imports from the affected area, rather than all of Spain.
Spain is the European Union's leading pork producer, accounting for about a quarter of the bloc's output, ahead of Germany, according to data from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture.
The ministry said it had notified the EU and activated emergency measures in the affected area, urging pig farms to step up security measures while investigators investigate the source of the infection.
The virus, which is harmless to humans but deadly to pigs, has been spreading west across Europe in recent years.
The spread of the disease in Germany has dealt a blow to the country's large pig industry, with many countries imposing bans on pork imports from there.
Croatia has been struggling to contain the outbreak in pig farms in recent months.