This follows similar bans in China and South Korea.

The viral disease, which originated in Africa but has spread to parts of Asia and Europe in recent years, is not dangerous for human health but is almost always fatal for pigs and wild boars.

Germany is in talks with the Japanese, Chinese and South Korean governments in a bid to replace the blanket bans with restrictions targeting specific regions, the ministry said.

Similar policies were implemented in European Union countries, which Germany delivers around 70 per cent of its pig meat exports to.

Germany on Thursday confirmed that a wild boar found dead near the Polish border in the state of Brandenburg had been carrying the virus. No further cases have turned up since, according to the ministry.

The development led to a “virtual export halt” for most trading partners outside the EU, because German exports lost their “swine fever-free” status, the ministry explained.