According to the USDA, Chinese purchases of pork in the United States have risen to a maximum in the past six years.

Selling 77,732 tons of pork in the United States in a week gives hope to American pig farmers and meat companies such as Smithfield Foods WH Group Ltd that demand in China will grow. Sales of American pork to China fell last year after Beijing imposed retaliatory duties of 62 percent on supplies during the ongoing trade war between the two countries.

China has reported 120 outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) since it was first discovered in the country in August 2018. The disease kills almost all infected pigs, although it does not harm humans. There is no cure for this disease. The exact number of pigs that were killed by this disease or culled to prevent its spread is unknown.

According to forecasts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China will increase imports of pork from the United States and other countries by 41 percent from 2018 to a record high due to African swine fever. Chinese pork production is likely to decline by 10 percent due to the elimination of the herd of pigs.

“Despite efforts to contain this disease, outbreaks continue to emerge, and evidence is accumulating that China will not be able to eradicate ASF in the short term,” writes Lindsay Kooberka, an agricultural economist at the US Department of Agriculture.

Analysts at Rabobank, the Dutch international banking and finance company, the world leader in food and agricultural finance and banking, forecast an even sharper, 30 percent, decrease in 2019 pork production in China.