Russia-EU Pig Meat Trade Dispute Deepens

The dispute between the European Union and Russia over the export of pork products, because of the discovery of African swine fever in the EU, deepened this week.

Russia heightened the tension between the two sides by banning all fully processed pork products from Lithuania and Poland – the two countries in the European Union that have reported cases of African swine fever in wild boar.

News that the ban was being stepped up came when the Polish agriculture minister, Marek Sawicki, was holding talks with his Lithuanian counterpart, Vigilijus Jukna, at the AgroBalt trade fair in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The two ministers expressed their concerns about the ban on exports and the effect it will have on their pig meat sector and they outlined their measures for zoning controls.

However, as Russia took action to step up the ban, the European Union started dispute procedures in the World Trade Organisation against Russia.

The European Union notified the WTO Secretariat of a request for consultations with the Russian Federation regarding measures affecting the importation of live pigs and their genetic material, pork, pork products, and certain other products from the EU.

The measures, which include import bans or import restrictions, were imposed in late January 2014 following the detection of the two cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in wild boar in Lithuania and Poland.

The request also relates to alleged discriminatory treatment afforded by Russia to the EU and its member states by comparison with Ukraine and Belarus.

According to the EU, the measures are inconsistent with Russia's obligations under several articles of the SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) Agreement and MFN (Most Favoured Nation) provisions in the GATT.

The request for consultations formally initiates a dispute in the WTO. Consultations give the parties an opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without proceeding further with litigation. After 60 days, if consultations have failed to resolve the dispute, the complainant may request adjudication by a panel.

The concerns over what the EU considers an uneven handed approach by Russia have been heightened by a report from the European Food Safety Authority that shows there is now a high risk of African Swine Fever becoming endemic in Georgia, Armenia and Russia.

Updating its scientific advice on African swine fever, EFSA assesses the risk that the disease is endemic in Georgia, Armenia and Russian Federation has increased from moderate to high since 2010, when it carried out its last risk assessment.

In addition, the risk that the virus spreads further into unaffected areas from these countries through contaminated meat, animals or vehicles remains high.

Reported outbreaks in Ukraine and Belarus have all been rapidly controlled but there is a risk of re-introduction of African swine fever virus from the Russian Federation and there are only a limited number of ongoing activities that will allow early detection of new cases in Ukraine and Belarus.