China says will impose controls after African swine fever outbreak

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Friday it will implement stricter controls on the slaughtering and transportation of pigs following the outbreak last week of African swine fever.

Statement comes after China reported its first outbreak of the deadly disease last week in the northeastern province of Liaoning.

Among measures announced, it said it will ban pigs in any areas affected by the disease from being transported elsewhere, in line with steps introduced last week near Liaoning's capital, Shenyang.

(Reporting by Josephine Mason and Beijing news monitoring; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)