Banned pesticides are still being exported by European companies to countries outside the EU, where they endanger workers and ecosystems.
A new report by Swedwatch, a Swedish NGO, identifies Kenya as a striking example of this harmful double standard and calls on European policymakers and agribusinesses to cease the trade and take responsibility.
The report, based on research conducted by Swedwatch and the Kenya Organic Agriculture Network (KOAN) in partnership with the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), outlines how hundreds of thousands of tonnes of pesticides are exported from the EU to markets abroad every year.
“It is deeply troubling that chemicals considered too dangerous for Europeans are still being exported from Europe to the rest of the world. This practice undermines human rights and risks having disastrous impacts on the environment,” said Olof Björnsson of Swedwatch, author of the report.
Many of these substances are prohibited for use within the EU due to their risks to people and nature. Yet current EU legislation still permits their production and export, a striking example of Europe’s double standards in environmental and human rights protection.
The report, Poison for Profit – The Cost of EU Double Standards on Biodiversity, Human Health and Livelihoods, documents the widespread effects of this trade on Kenyan farm workers and communities.
Those interviewed described a wide range of symptoms, from eye and skin irritation to breathing problems and even fatal poisonings.
Health professionals report increasing cancer rates in agricultural regions, while farmers note impacts on biodiversity, including the disappearance of bees and other pollinators. Other environmental effects, such as contaminated water sources, are also being reported.
KOAN CEO Eustace Gacanja said: “The influx of pesticides banned in the EU directly undermines the health of Kenyans, damages the environment, and exposes a critical failure in regulatory bodies that should be protecting public safety.”
The risks identified in Kenya are mirrored in other countries, often low- and middle-income ones, where fruits and vegetables are grown using pesticides manufactured in Europe, but banned there. These crops are frequently destined for export to European markets.
Karin Lexén, Secretary General at SSNC, said it is high time to phase out harmful pesticides and transition to sustainable agriculture that protects both people and the environment.
Despite growing awareness and voluntary due diligence efforts, the report finds that neither pesticide producers nor food retailers have effectively addressed these impacts. The result is a persistent accountability gap, where local farmers bear the costs of unsafe exports while companies continue to profit. “Pesticide manufacturing companies must end their complicity. They should accept full responsibility for their products’ harm instead of offloading it onto farmers, and commit to a rapid, responsible phase-out of toxic chemicals,” she said.
In June 2025, Kenya took decisive action, banning 77 highly hazardous pesticides and restricting over 200 more, a major step toward safeguarding public health and the environment. However, Swedwatch cautions that the burden of responsibility cannot rest solely on importing nations.
Alice Blondel, Director at Swedwatch, lauded Kenya’s decision as an example of real leadership, but noted that it also exposes the failure of European companies and the states in which they are based. “It should never be up to affected countries to clean up the consequences of Europe’s harmful exports. EU-based companies and policymakers must ensure that no banned pesticides are produced or exported anywhere,” he said.
The trade in toxic pesticides is not only unethical, but economically irrational. EU border controls regularly stop shipments containing excessive levels of these banned substances. When vegetable shipments from Kenya are rejected at EU borders, the costs of destruction are passed on to Kenyan farmers, those least responsible for the problem.
“Such an arrangement is both unjust and flawed, particularly when more sustainable alternatives are entirely achievable. If Europe manages to farm without these chemicals, so can the rest of the world,” Björnsson explained.
Swedwatch calls on companies and EU policymakers to take decisive action, including banning the export of pesticides prohibited within the EU, strengthening Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) frameworks across entire value chains, and accelerating investment in agroecological farming.
“The solution is straightforward: stop exporting substances deemed too dangerous for the EU. Protecting people and the planet must come before profit.”
The report issues a variety of recommendations to European policymakers, including banning the export of pesticides that are prohibited for use within the EU, and implementing mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) legislation at the national and/or EU level that covers the entire value chain and all types of business relationships.
European producers of pesticides should stop offloading the responsibility for failed Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) onto farmers, and should urgently phase out the production and sale of harmful pesticides.
