Egyptian lemons ship from October to May under the Adalia name — the local name for the Interdonato type — with Baladi lemon and seedless lime running alongside it. This page sets out the count sizes, carton formats and certifications PEI Trade quotes against, and two regulatory facts that work in a lemon buyer’s favour and are rarely stated: Egyptian lemons are not on the European Union’s increased-controls list, and they are excluded by name from the EU cold treatment requirement that applies to Egyptian oranges.

By the PEI Trade export desk · Last updated 31 August 2026

What PEI Trade actually supplies

That last point is the one worth carrying into a negotiation. An importer comparing origins is comparing border friction as much as price, and on lemons Egypt currently carries none of the additional EU checks that apply to several other Egyptian lines.

Lemon varieties and the export season

Lemon counts and carton formats

Egyptian lemons are sold by count per 15 kg carton. A lower count means larger fruit. The 15 kg telescopic carton is the Egyptian export standard for both lemons and oranges; a 10 kg carton is available for retail programmes that need a lighter unit.

Average weight is 15,000 g divided by the count. Ask the packhouse for the grading band it actually works to before contracting a count.

Lemons need warmer storage than oranges

This is the most common cold chain mistake on a mixed citrus load. Lemons are sensitive to chilling injury below 10 °C: peel pitting, brown staining and internal breakdown that often does not appear until the fruit warms up at destination. Oranges tolerate temperatures that damage lemons. Never carry lemons at orange set points, and do not mix the two in one container unless the container is set for lemons. Our citrus cold chain guide sets out the temperature ranges by variety.

What EU entry actually requires for Egyptian lemons

Two rules affect Egyptian citrus entering the European Union, and lemons sit outside both of them.

• Increased official controls for pesticide residues. Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 lists Egyptian oranges at a 10 per cent check rate. Egyptian lemons are not listed.
• Cold treatment for false codling moth. Point 62 of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 covers Citrus from African-continent origins but excludes Citrus limon and Citrus aurantiifolia by name. Egyptian lemons and limes fall outside the rule; Egyptian sweet oranges do not.

PEI Trade is the exporter, not a regulatory authority. Confirm current entry conditions with your own importer of record before contracting, since both regulations are amended regularly.

Certification on a lemon shipment

• Farm: GLOBALG.A.P.
• Packhouse: HACCP or ISO 22000
• Shipment: phytosanitary certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture, certificate of origin, commercial invoice and packing list
• Residues: laboratory analysis against the maximum residue levels of the destination named in the contract, reported per lot

We do not hold organic certification. If your programme requires certified organic lemons, the exporter in the chain has to be certified as well as the farm and the packhouse — tell us the destination and we will point you to what that regime requires rather than quote against it.

Ask for a lemon specification

Tell us the variety, the count band, the carton format and the destination port, and we will come back with availability and a price. Detailed specifications are in our Egyptian lemon export specifications.

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