SHANGHAI: China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange has completed pairing for its first live hog futures contract delivery, the country’s first live-animal physical-delivery contract, according to an article published on the exchange’s website on Thursday.

The exchange, which is responsible for matching buyers with sellers to complete contract delivery within a specified time, linked four pairs of buyers and sellers for the delivery, totalling 64 tonnes.

The companies involved in the delivery pairing were COFCO Jiajiakang (Jiangsu) Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Chinese state grain trader COFCO, and leading pig producer Muyuan Food Co Ltd.

The exchange launched the live hog futures contract in January as a vital hedging tool for an industry roiled by the African fever outbreak, which had decimated herds and sent pork prices soaring.