BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, China's cabinet, on Wednesday made public a guideline to tighten prevention and control of the African swine fever.

Piglets are held in pens at a modern pig farm in Beijing on April 30, 2018. (Photo: China Daily)

The guideline called for more efforts on the supervision on the whole chain of the country's pig industry.

Tougher regulation will be adopted to strengthen disease prevention and control of farming, transportation and slaughtering of pigs, according to the guideline.

Companies are required to test raw pork for the infectious disease before processing pork products, and authorities will step up oversight on producers and crackdown on illegalities during the process.

China will also strengthen entry and exit inspection and quarantine as well as the fight against pig smuggling.

Pig farms that are heavily affected by the outbreak of the disease will receive temporary production assistance such as short-term loans with discounted interests, the guideline said.

China has made steady progress in the prevention and control of African swine fever. Official data showed as of the end of last month, the country had reported 44 outbreaks since the beginning of the year, maintaining a single-digit monthly occurrence except in April.