The Banned Gas: Methyl bromide is still flooding Egypt's farmland
Ten years ago, Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture/MoA banned the use of the gas methyl bromide for fumigating domestic crops, following the completion of the second phase of the national strategy to eliminate the ozone-depleting gas. Its use was restricted solely to fumigating exports and imports.
At the time, the government reported that methyl bromide consumption stood at 92 tons in 2013. According to the Egyptian Program for Protecting the Ozone Layer, this amount was supposed to be reduced by 35% by 2020. However, environmental data published in May 2024 by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency revealed a different story: usage climbed to 152 tons in 2020 and then surged to 268 tons in 2021, representing increases of 65.2% and 190%, respectively.
Company data obtained from the LexisNexis corporate database shows that Egypt imported more than 5,000 tons of methyl bromide in 2023 alone. This figure sharply contradicts the official 2021 figure of 268 tons published in the environmental quality bulletin.
This investigation by Al Manassa reveals that Egyptian farmers are using methyl bromide gas in agriculture, violating international agreements that Egypt has signed. Using LexisNexis and Sayari databases, we tracked the Indian exporting company and the Egyptian importers responsible for reintroducing the chemical to Egyptian fields.
Shopping on social media
In Egypt, methyl bromide has been banned for soil fumigation due to its environmental and health hazards. The gas damages the ozone layer and exposes handlers to serious health risks. Egypt signed the Montreal Protocol in 1987, committing to phase out methyl bromide. The phase out of its agricultural use began in 2005 and was made complete in 2015.
Methyl bromide is a chlorofluorocarbon that erodes the ozone layer, which is responsible for protecting Earth from ultraviolet radiation. According to a report from the Ministry of the Environment, its ozone depletion potential is six parts per thousand compared to the CFC-11 standard.
Despite the ban, and with no regard to the serious environmental and health implications, Al Manassa found advertisements on social media from nurseries and agricultural companies promoting the sale and use of methyl bromide.
The Facebook page for “Enbat Nursery” featured posts advertising fumigation with methyl bromide for the 2023/2024 strawberry season. Another post showed photos of the banned gas being used to sterilize soil at a strawberry nursery, captioned, “Sterilizing strawberry nursery soil with methyl bromide.”
These ads are aimed at growers and portray the gas as a marker of quality. Many nurseries and agricultural companies use its presence in marketing to suggest superior product quality.
Al Manassa contacted one of the pages advertising the use of methyl bromide for strawberry seedlings. We asked how to obtain the gas. They replied shortly after, confirming that a cylinder was available for 50,000 Egyptian pounds (about $1,000), with a 5,000-pound ($100) refund offered upon return of the empty canister.
We also messaged another plant nutrition company promoting methyl bromide for strawberries on Facebook. Claiming we needed the gas for greenhouses in Nubariya, they connected us with an engineer named Abdel Moneim, who they said was responsible for selling the gas in Giza governorate.
On Facebook groups like the Strawberry Growers Association in Badr Center, the Pesticides, Fertilizers and Seeds Exchange, and the Qalyoubia Strawberry Growers Association, users freely exchange requests and offers to buy and sell the banned gas. Al Manassa documented these exchanges with screenshots.
Undercover purchase attempt
Pretending to be middlemen buying three cylinders of methyl bromide for a fake fruit export company intending to sterilize the soil before cultivation, we contacted a man named Ragab in Badr Center, Beheira. He offered to sell us an empty cylinder, explaining that, like a cooking gas cylinder, it must be exchanged to get a filled one—or you must pay a deposit of up to 5,000 pounds per cylinder.
Ragab described how to use the gas in agriculture: injecting it into irrigation lines or using it under plastic sheets, with the gas remaining effective for a year. “You can plant two or three cycles on it a year,” he said.
He offered to source the gas himself, claiming he could get it from a trusted agricultural expert at the Agricultural Research Center. He estimated the cost of one cylinder at more than 45,000 pounds ($900).
The next day, Ragab confirmed that the three requested cylinders were available but said the price had risen overnight. “A 50-kilogram cylinder now costs 65,000 pounds. I told you 40 or 45 before, but that was 10 months ago when the dollar was 28 or 30 pounds. These are imported,” he said.
He explained that one feddan (4,200 square meters) requires two to three cylinders, depending on the soil’s condition and pest infestation. Along with the 65,000-pound gas price, buyers must pay a refundable 7,000-pound deposit per cylinder.
When we expressed concern about the cost, Ragab responded, “Anyone who knows methyl bromide wouldn’t hesitate to pay 100,000 pounds for a cylinder,” arguing that it eliminates nematodes—a type of worm damaging to plants—whose treatment otherwise cost thousands of pounds.
Identifying the importers
To verify the product’s availability and quality before purchase, we asked Ragab to send photos of the cylinders. The images showed clear labels marked “For professional use only” and “Highly toxic.”
Labeling also included instructions for use: “For fumigating crops in storage and eliminating warehouse insects.” The prescribed dose was noted as “20 grams per cubic meter.”
Usage instructions specified: “Use only in sealed areas or under impermeable plastic sheets” and noted that it must be applied by or under the supervision of a certified pest control professional.
The label also revealed the exporter as Intech Organics, an Indian company. The importer was stated as African Development Co. for Trade (ADCO). The cylinders were labeled with a production date of May 2023 and expiration date of April 2025.
India the gateway to methyl bromide
Despite the Ministry of Environment’s claim that Egypt used only 268 tons of methyl bromide in 2021, Sayari data reveal that Egypt imported over 5,107 tons in 2023—a clear violation of environmental regulations and commitments.
Sayari’s database showed that Intech Organics alone exported over 5,000 tons of methyl bromide to Egypt in 50-kg cylinders. The Egyptian importers’ names did not appear in the database, as they had requested anonymity.
https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/24905901/Intech Organics Limited, based in Gurgaon, Haryana, was established in 1999 and is not publicly traded. Its paid-up share capital is around 56.9 million rupees (about $700,000) and is majority-owned by businessman Navanshu Saharan (43%), with other shareholders including Pest Kare (29%) and Trinity Venture Capital (25.45%), according to LexisNexis.
The company reported 3.1 billion rupees in revenue last year, with assets exceeding 4 billion and profits of 442.6 million. It specializes in the manufacture and supply of industrial chemicals including aluminum phosphide, zinc phosphide, and methyl bromide.
Who imports the banned gas?
“Importing methyl bromide requires the importing company to submit a request to the Agricultural Quarantine Department to bring in a specified quantity,” an owner of a pesticide import company, who asked not to be named, explained.
Since the start of the methyl bromide phaseout project in the early 2000s, imports have been restricted to such official requests, as its use was limited solely to fumigating exports and imports. The law forbids its use for sterilizing soil or stored grains.
Egypt is permitted to import about 220 tons annually. Law No. 562 of 2019 on agricultural quarantine states that methyl bromide can be used only for fumigating exports and imports. The Egyptian Ozone Protection Program also requires phased reductions in imported HCFCs: 10% in 2015, 25% in 2018, 35% in 2020, 70% in 2025, 97.5% in 2030, leading to a complete ban in 2040.
According to this source, the Agricultural Quarantine Department approves companies’ requests to import methyl bromide, but when shipments arrive, the Pesticides Committee simply examines the certificate of analysis accompanying the shipment. No independent testing is conducted, as the committee claims it lacks the equipment to analyze the gas.
Sayed Abbas, head of the technical office at the Agricultural Quarantine Department and member of the National Ozone Committee, told Al Manassa that in 2005 the committee restricted methyl bromide imports to five approved companies. As import quotas shrank in line with the Montreal Protocol, some companies withdrew, including the Agricultural Bank of Egypt, Bridge Trade (owned by Ahmed Massad), and Technogreen (owned by Magdy Mansour). He said 17 new requests for import licenses were rejected.
Currently, only two companies are authorized to import methyl bromide: African Development Co. for Trade (ADCO), which imports the majority, and SAW Trading, owned by Amin Rashwan, which imports much smaller amounts.
A near monopoly
During our attempt to purchase cylinders, we were offered products labeled with ADCO’s name. The company is owned by businessman Mohamed Ashour and headquartered in Dokki, Giza. LexisNexis data shows ADCO imported about 3,520 tons of vinyl bromide in 2023.
Confronted with the fact that cylinders labeled with ADCO’s name were being sold to farmers, Ashour denied responsibility: “My job is to import and supply authorized fumigation companies. If the gas ends up outside quarantine, that’s not my responsibility. The whole process is in the hands of the Agricultural Quarantine Department.”
Ashour added that after importing the gas, he distributes it to 36 fumigation companies authorized to sterilize exports and imports, based on permits specifying quantities. These companies must submit receipts and certificates showing how much gas they used for fumigating shipments before being granted new supplies.
ADCO imported between 150 and 200 tons in each of 2022 and 2023. Rashwan’s company, SAW, imported nothing in 2023 due to financial problems, leaving Ashour in control of the market.
Ashour blamed fumigation companies for diverting the gas to farmers. “When a company receives a ton for fumigation, uses 600 kilograms, and sells the leftover 400, that’s how it leaks into the market.” He suggested that small strawberry farmers in Qalyoubia are among the main buyers.
The black market
Mohamed Ali Batta, a fumigation specialist at Protect, one of the licensed companies, said methyl bromide is indeed sold on the “black market,” as farmers see it as a miracle solution against nematodes. He admitted some fumigation companies may sell their leftovers.
“Every day I get calls: ‘Chief, I need two cylinders, I need three.’ I tell them I don’t sell. I buy from the importer like you. If I run out, how do I file consumption reports?” he said.
Batta, however, denied that the companies using the gas were the only parties responsible for it getting into the hands of farmers. He explained that licensed fumigation requires strict paperwork. Companies request gas from importers with agricultural quarantine approval, then submit detailed consumption logs. Each fumigation is supervised by two agricultural engineers. These reports must be returned before new supplies are issued.
His company uses about three tons of methyl bromide annually, mostly for potato exports from January to June, and smaller amounts for fumigating wooden pallets and cotton imports.
Distribution to farmers
Import companies also have networks of traders and agricultural supply companies that distribute methyl bromide to farmers. Areas like Mit Kenana and Al-Deir in Qalyoubia, and the city of Salhiya in Ismailia, are hotspots. In Badr Center, Beheira, we found references to Hisham El-Sayed, owner of Nile Drip, as a leading distributor.
When we called Nile Drip, we were referred to sales manager Ibrahim El-Naggar. Pretending to need six cylinders for sterilizing greenhouses before planting peppers, we asked if he could help. He confirmed availability: “There’s a batch coming after Eid, about half a ton or 600 kilograms spare.”
He explained that demand peaks in late August and September, coinciding with the strawberry planting season. At the time of our call, he had about 500 kilograms available from the May and June batches. He quoted 50,000 pounds per cylinder plus a 5,000-pound deposit.
At the end of the call, we learned from El-Naggar about a vast network trading in banned methyl bromide across the length and breadth of Egypt. He had asked us about the location where the gas was to be used. When we said Ismailia, he explained that there were well-known traders in Ismailia who provide the gas, such as Sayed Abu Habiba, and he offered to help us contact them to save us the trouble of buying the gas from Beheira and using it in Ismailia.
Final destination or transit point?
Sayed Abbas, of the Agricultural Quarantine Department, admitted to Al Manassa that there may be loopholes allowing methyl bromide to circulate among farmers. He recalled that five or six years ago the military seized 40 tons on Egypt’s eastern border with Israel, one of the largest producers of methyl bromide. The shipment was handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture, who passed it on to the Agricultural Bank of Egypt.
He doubted, however, that thousands of tons were being consumed domestically, suggesting instead that some shipments may be transiting to Libya.
Where are the alternatives?
The government launched the Alternatives to Methyl Bromide in Agriculture and Crop Fumigation project, funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and implemented with the Ministry of Environment, the Agricultural Research Center, and major agricultural companies. It introduced eco-friendly soil-sterilization and pest-control methods that showed promising results.
However, a 2018 study, “Strawberry Growers' Awareness of Using Methyl Bromide Alternatives for Soil Sterilization in Qalyoubia Governorate,” found that 46% of farmers had little knowledge of alternatives. Among their main complaints, 78% said they didn’t know how to use them properly, and 76% said they were too expensive.
The study, co-authored by researchers from the Plant Pathology Research Institute and the Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Institute, warned that methyl bromide is highly toxic, causes respiratory irritation, affects the nervous system, contaminates groundwater, and accumulates in fruits and vegetables, in addition to depleting the ozone layer.
Health risks
Dr. Salah Abou-Riya, professor of food industries and nutrition at Cairo University’s Faculty of Agriculture, listed the dangers of using methyl bromide for the land and for humans. He told Al Manassa that it was a very poisonous gas that could kill farmers if they didn’t use protective equipment while spraying it. He pointed out that when sprayed, the gas dissipates, but leaves a toxic residue in the soil, which could be absorbed by the crops and from there to humans.
“It kills all soil microorganisms, sterilizing the land and reducing fertility,” he warned.
Yet despite these dangers, social media pages continue to promote methyl bromide as essential for successful farming, with little government action to curb its use.
(*) This investigative story was co-winner of the best Environmental Journalism Award at the Egyptian Press Awards (Mahmoud Awad session - 2025). The award is presented by the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate to honor exemplary reporting that contributes to public discourse and upholds the highest standards of the profession.
(** ) A version of this story first appeared in Arabic on Nov. 4, 2024