African swine fever has returned to Spain for the first time in three decades after two wild boar found dead near Barcelona tested positive for the virus, the Agriculture Ministry said on Friday, putting rapidly growing pork exports to China at risk of a ban.

The outbreak, Spain’s first since 1994, comes as Madrid seeks to increase its share of China’s pork market. A ban could, however, be limited after China and Spain signed a deal this month allowing Beijing to restrict imports only from the affected region rather than the entire country.

Barcelona is in Catalonia, which accounts for about 8% of Spain’s pork farms, according to Agriculture Ministry data.

Spain is the European Union’s biggest pork producer, responsible for about a quarter of total output, ahead of Germany, with annual

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