The European Union continues to export pesticides that it has banned for health and environmental reasons – sending more than 122,000 tonnes abroad in 2024, as a promised EU law to stop the trade remains stalled.
Issued on: 18/04/2026 - RFI
Pesticides banned for health and environmental risks in the European Union are still produced and exported abroad, with more than 122,000 tonnes shipped in 2024 alone.
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The figures are based on export notifications filed by companies and compiled by the Swiss NGO Public Eye, offering one of the clearest pictures of the trade.
They show that exports have continued to rise in recent years, even though the European Commission pledged in 2020 to end the practice.
The issue exposes a contradiction at the heart of EU rules.
“When a product is banned, only its use is banned on European soil. But manufacturers can continue to produce these products,” Public Eye investigator Laurent Gaberell told RFI.
The figures are based on export notifications filed by companies and compiled by the Swiss NGO Public Eye, offering one of the clearest pictures of the trade.
They show that exports have continued to rise in recent years, even though the European Commission pledged in 2020 to end the practice.
The issue exposes a contradiction at the heart of EU rules.
“When a product is banned, only its use is banned on European soil. But manufacturers can continue to produce these products,” Public Eye investigator Laurent Gaberell told RFI.
Part of the increase is linked to the EU banning more pesticides over time. While those substances can no longer be used on European farms, companies are still allowed to produce them and sell them abroad.
Europe is a major player in pesticide production, with a long-established chemical industry, particularly in Germany – as well as Switzerland, outside the EU.
Most of the exports are sent to developing or middle-income countries, including Brazil, India, Morocco and South Africa, where regulations are less strict and protections for farmers are weaker, Public Eye found.
'No protection, no awareness'
Pesticides removed from the European market can pollute groundwater, kill bees in large numbers, cause cancer, harm fertility or poison farmers, according to Gaberell.
In many of the countries they are exported to, farmers are exposed to serious risks when using them.
“In rural India, you see farmers applying these pesticides with no protection at all – no mask, no gloves, no goggles, often barefoot,” Gaberell said.
“These are extremely dangerous pesticides, too dangerous even for European farmers using all the protective equipment available. You can imagine the risks for Indian farmers using them with no protection at all, and often with no awareness of the dangers.”
In Brazil, aerial spraying of pesticides – banned in Europe except in limited cases – is widely used. Pesticides are released from aircraft and carried by the wind, drifting beyond the fields they are meant for. Living near farmland, or going to school nearby, can mean being exposed.
Double standard
In 2020, the European Commission promised to bring in a law banning the export of banned pesticides, but this is yet to be adopted.
Industry pressure is one reason for the delay, according to Gaberell, who also said shifting political priorities has seen the issue drop down the agenda.
“There has been strong pressure from industry. There is major resistance from the European chemical industry,” he said. “We are worried the commission may go back on its 2020 commitment.”
He said this reflects a double standard in EU policy.
“These are the most dangerous pesticides in the world... But we choose to look the other way to protect our industry.”
Europe also imports agricultural products from the countries to which it exports these dangerous pesticides – meaning they can return indirectly through imported food.
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