Egypt has increased its lemon exports to three South American countries, setting new shipment records in each market, according to EastFruit. Between November 2024 and June 2025, exporters shipped 3,800 metric tons of lemons to South America, generating about US$3.6 million. This volume is more than six times higher than the previous marketing year and 160 times greater than exports in 2021/22.
Egypt's lemon exports to South America are a recent development. The first shipments to Uruguay began in 2019/20, followed by Brazil in 2020/21. Exports to Argentina started in the current marketing year.
© EastFruit
The export window for Egyptian lemons to South America runs from November to April, with peak volumes typically in December and January when local supply is at its lowest.
During the first nine months of 2024/25, Egypt became the leading lemon supplier to Brazil, surpassing both Uruguay and Argentina. Given that imports from August to October in previous years rarely exceeded 1,000 tons, Egypt is expected to retain its top position through the end of the marketing year.
In Uruguay, Egypt also overtook Argentina but continues to trail Brazil. As a result, Egypt now ranks as the second-largest lemon supplier to Uruguay and is expected to hold this position through the season.
© EastFruit
Exports to Argentina are new and more challenging for Egypt. Argentina is one of the world's largest lemon producers and usually maintains low import volumes, sourcing mainly from Brazil. However, a reduced harvest this season limited domestic availability, leading to higher imports from Chile, as well as new shipments from Egypt and Spain. With an established logistics network in South America, Egypt outperformed Spain and secured third place among lemon suppliers to Argentina.
In addition to lemons, Egypt also set new seasonal export records for oranges to both Brazil and Argentina.
Source: EastFruit
