The virus does not affect humans but is highly contagious and fatal for pigs, and an outbreak is potentially devastating for the country’s pork industry.
Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said on Saturday the government wanted to limit the economic impact on the agricultural sector “as much as possible”.
Spain, the world’s third largest producer of pork and pork derivatives, exports almost three million tonnes each year to more than 100 countries, Planas told a press conference.
But he said a third of those countries had halted imports from Spain — an automatic safety measure when African swine flu is detected.