Two panels have been set up at the WTO to consider EU-Russia trade disputes involving pig meat.

The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO has set up two panels in a bid to resolve trade arguments between Russia and the EU.

One panel has been established on the Russian Federation’s complaint against anti-dumping measures by the European Union on imports from Russia. The second is on the EU’s complaint against Russia’s measures on the importation of live pigs, pork and other pig products from the EU.

The first panel will consider Russia's case over cost adjustment methodologies and certain anti-dumping measures on imports from Russia.

In the second dispute, the EU has reiterated its concern regarding Russia’s EU-wide restriction against imports of live pigs, pork and other pig products despite the EU’s measures to contain a further spread of the African swine fever.

The EU, for the second time, requested the DSB to establish a panel.

Russia said that the recurring African swine fever outbreaks in the EU showed the EU’s ineffectiveness to prevent the spread of the disease.

Russia believed that the issues related to this outbreak may only be effectively resolved through expert consultations and arrangements. A number of third-party countries will participate in the panel’s proceedings.

In new outbreaks of ASF, a total of 60 domestic pigs have died in Voronezh in the south-west of the country at two large farms, each of which has almost 20,000 pigs.

A further five pigs died in Tula. In a separate report, two pigs died at another large farm in Pskov and one in a village herd in Kaluga.

All these cases have been confirmed as positive for African swine fever.

African swine fever has been reported in the last week to have killed at least 3,000 pigs in Uganda.