According to reporting from Asiaone, mainland China has suspended live transports of pigs into Hong Kong, causing pork prices to spike by up to 40 percent on Saturday. The move was made in response to a confirmed case of African swine fever in the city.

The paper has reported that pork traders are protesting the city’s decision to cull thousands of pigs. Pork traders are petitioning the government carry out more tests on the pigs to determine if they are infected with the disease. As of this morning, operations at the government-owned Sheung-Shui slaughterhouse have been suspended. Other privately-owned slaughterhouses in the city have suspended their operations as well.

A representative from Hong Kong’s pork industry stated that pork traders would “protect their property” and stand guard at slaughterhouses overnight to prevent the culling of uninfected pigs.

It is unclear how long operations at state-owned slaughterhouses would be suspended, or when mainland authorities will resume imports of fresh pork. The uncertainty surrounding the potential cull of pigs caused significant price fluctuations in the pork market over the weekend, with many businesses closing early due to low supply.

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Thumbnail image by: Eneas de Troya, Creative Commons License 2.0