MOSCOW, January 28. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor announced on Tuesday that it had lifted bans on more Belarusian enterprises exporting pork products to Russia.

A temporary halt was imposed in August last year over the reported outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Belarus. But from mid-October, controls were lifted on three Belarusian enterprises and earlier this month, on six more manufacturers from the country’s Brest region.

Russia's veterinary service announced on Tuesday that the embargo on pork imports had been lifted on major meat manufacturers in Belarusia's Mogilyov region. The ban was revoked following joint inspections by Russian and Belarussian veterinary experts, Rosselkhoznadzor added.

But an embargo was imposed last week on pork product imports from Belarus’ neighbor Lithuania, citing an ASF outbreak in the Baltic country.

ASF is a highly contagious disease in pigs caused by a virus. There is no vaccine against it and it can be stopped from spreading only through culling infected animals. The first African swine fever outbreak was registered in South Africa in 1903.