(Yicai Global) Aug. 17 -- Shares in Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development have plummeted after authorities in its home province shut down an abattoir over fears surrounding African swine fever.

The stock [SHE:000895] hit the 10 percent limit down yesterday to reach CNY22.41 (USD3.26), but have clawed back up to CNY22.75 as of 10 a.m. today.

Shuanghui is cooperating with the municipal government in provincial capital Zhengzhou to prevent the African swine fever epidemic from spreading, and has shifted operations from the city to other plants, news site The Paper reported, citing source from the firm. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has since confirmed the news.

Some 30 pigs had died of the disease in a truck carrying 260 live swine to Zhengzhou from Jiamusi city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. China reported its first case of African swine fever on Aug. 3 after an outbreak in Shenyang, Liaoning -- also in the northeast. The agriculture ministry then issued a pandemic alert, with local authorities in Shenyang setting up quarantine stations and culling more than 8,000 hogs.

Shares in Shuanghui parent WH Group [HKG:0288] flopped on the latest announcement, closing down 6.5 percent after logging its largest intra-day decline of 11 percent. Other firms in the sector suffered too, with Wens Foodstuff Group [SHE:300498] losing 5.3 percent and Muyuan Foods [SHE:002714] dipping 4.6 percent yesterday.

Editor: James Boynton