If Spanish agriculture is experiencing real pain due to the novel coronavirus crisis (temporary labor shortages in foreign countries caused by the border closure and many crops will rot in the fields), the impact on livestock is no less severe, western media said. The three star products of the Spanish livestock industry: lamb, seafood and Iberian pork (especially ham, known as the "ace" of Spanish exports) are also going through tough times.

According to the website of izvestia on April 5, the reason for this is simple: the production of these products cannot continue, mainly due to the temporary closure of its main customers -- hotels, restaurants, bars and various other catering businesses. The damage ran into millions of dollars. Many ranches went bankrupt because they could not afford to take the brunt of the sudden drop in sales.

In Iberian pork, domestic and international sales have plummeted, the report said. Sales of fresh pork and cured meat products such as ham, tenderloin and sausages have fallen sharply, with many small farms and processing plants reporting "almost zero" sales.

The flagship product of a ham company that won the 2016 Spanish food awards is Iberian ham at 350 euros each. "Right now, our sales are down to zero," said jose javier cavonello, the company's head. He regretted that the company had gone through a difficult time. The company relies on hotels and restaurants, now all closed, for almost 100% of its sales. "We only have three or four clients left," says Mr Cavonello. He had to find a way out of the backlog. Prices for fresh and pickled Iberian pork products have "dropped 30 to 35 percent in recent days," he said.

Raul Garcia, head of another meat company, says 30% of his company's sales come from outside Spain, mainly in southeast Asia. The good news is that orders in southeast Asia are starting to return to normal levels after the outbreak is under control.

Lamb, another dish of Spanish livestock, is in even worse condition than Iberian pork, the report said. "This is supposed to be our best time of year after Christmas," says one business owner. We prepared lamb, but no one came to buy it. Our main customers were bars and restaurants, but they all closed. I don't know what to do with the lamb."

Also facing difficulties are some 15,000 seafood companies in Spain. Seafood markets have been closed and fishing has been suspended. Prices fell to very low levels because there was little demand.