Beef prices in South Africa jumped as outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) have been confirmed in five provinces of the country. The FMD outbreaks have caused tight supply in South Africa's beef market. Retail beef prices in cities such as Cape Town and Johannesburg have increased by an average of 15 percent to 25 percent over the past two weeks, with some supermarkets even experiencing temporary shortages. According to the Red Meat Producers' Organisation (RPO), beef prices are 20 percent higher than the same period last year, while the price of whole cattle has surged by 45 percent. With new cases being reported, pricing pressures are expected to persist. South Africa's beef exports have also been affected, with several countries suspending imports of fresh beef and related products. Livestock associations in South Africa warned that if the epidemic continues until August, the nation's beef cattle industry chain could face its most severe impact in a decade. South African's Ministry of Agriculture recently announced that animal movement restrictions have been lifted in parts of Eastern Cape Province and Limpopo Province -- where the outbreak was first detected. But the situation remains uncontrolled with new cases continuing to emerge in provinces including KwaZulu-Natal, North West, and Gauteng. The ministry had urgently distributed over 500,000 doses of FMD vaccines, prioritizing high-risk farming areas, and deployed specialized containment teams to affected zones for quarantine, disinfection, and culling operations. Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen announced recently that 43 million rand (about 2.44 million U.S. dollars) had been allocated from the ministry's budget for additional vaccines. The government will continue enforcing strict control measures to curb the epidemic. Shotlist: South Africa - Recent: 1. Various of beef products on shelves; supermarket; 2. Employee of beef supplier talking with client; 3. SOUNDBITE (English) employee, beef supplier (no name given): "Because we have some restaurants -- they take the orders from this company for the beef -- but they were not like usually -- like the same -- since the prices increase now."; 4. Various of cattle on farm; 5. Various of cattle being vaccinated; medical staff; 6. Various of cattle on farm. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]