By Grace Zawadi

EU interceptions for MRL breaches in fresh Kenyan produce halved in the first four months of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier, as green bean MRL interceptions fell sharply.

Overall, the EU reported seven interceptions of Kenyan fresh produce exports for MRL breaches in the first four months of 2026, compared with 14 from January to April 2025. 

The share of interceptions of green beans also fell, to four of the seven in 2026, compared with 14 out of 14 in the same period of 2025.

Hexaconazole has been the only residue breached more than once so far in 2026, both times on green beans. 

As a fungicide, Hexacanozole is used to stop bean diseases like rust, anthracnose, angular leaf spot, and powdery mildew. But it has a longer preharvest interval than many other fungicides, taking 14-21 days to break down. It is also prone to resistance, meaning it can stop protecting plants from diseases after repeated use.

However, since the banning in Kenya of Chlorothalonil and Mancozeb, both of which break down much more quickly – with Chlorothalonil’s PHI at just 7 days – and prevent resistance, farmers have been pushed onto Hexacanozole to prevent severe crop losses.

Anthracnose and angular leaf spot can each destroy 100 per cent of a bean crop.

“The serious need is to train farmers on the much longer PHIs of these replacements and how to manage resistance. If not, the results from the bans become additional breached MRLs, and then extreme crop losses,” said a FarmBizAfrica agronomist.

However, the overall proportion of interceptions on green beans fell sharply in early 2026, with green beans accounting for 30 of Kenya’s 33 interceptions for MRL breaches in 2025, but only four of the country’s seven interceptions in the first four months of 2026.

At the same time, interceptions of other crops rose with three for residues on basil, capsicum and fresh chilli from January to April 2026, compared with three for the whole of 2025, for chillies, coffee and snow peas.

Of the three non-bean interceptions, two were insecticides and the third was not detailed by the reporting country.

Kenya also recorded one non-pesticide food safety interception in the period, after Norway flagged listeria monocytogenes in baby corn exports, following two consignments, last year, with salmonella – in Macadamia nuts and dog chews.

The early 2026 data, however, shows Kenya’s export food safety continuing to trend upwards, with 44 MRL interceptions in 2024 falling to 33 in 2025, and 7 in the first four months of 2026.

The same is not true for pest infestations, which triggered 25 interceptions of Kenyan crops from January to March 2026, following from 25 in the same period of 2025, and 82 for the whole of last year.