(Bloomberg) -- South Africa announced a nationwide ban on the movement of cattle to curb an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

The prohibition is in place for 21 days and will be reviewed weekly, the agriculture ministry said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. Exceptions will be allowed for livestock being moved to abattoirs, as well the slaughter of the animals for ritual purposes during cultural ceremonies.

“The minister recognizes the major disruption that the movement ban will cause in the normal business of many sectors,” the ministry said. “For this reason, the ban is only applicable to cattle, as the movement of cattle was identified as the main cause of the continued spread of the outbreaks.”

The decision comes after South African citrus growers said last week that new European Union import rules hampered exports of fruit from the country. South Africa is the world’s second-biggest exporter of citrus, after Spain.

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