Address
Blue mall - street 38 Third District, Fifth Settlement, New Cairo
Work Hours
Monday to Friday: 7AM - 7PM
Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
Medjool Egyptian Dates for Gulf Importers
The Gulf is the largest date-consuming region in the world, and Gulf importers have historically bought local and regional fruit. Egyptian dates now sit alongside those origins, and for a buyer the practical questions are narrow: which type of date, harvested when, stored how, and landed at what specification.
This page covers Medjool supply into Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman: the harvest and storage cycle, what to specify, the pack formats, and the documents that travel with the container.
Table of Contents
Egyptian Date Types and Where Medjool Fits
| Variety | Type | Harvest | Typical channel | Storage behaviour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medjool | Soft | August to October | Retail, gifting, food service | Chilled or frozen storage for year-round supply |
| Siwi | Semi-dry | August to October | Retail and processing | Holds well once cured; ships through the year |
| Zaghloul | Fresh | August to October | Regional fresh market | Short window; not a long-storage date |
| Dry and semi-dry types | Dry | August to October | Processing and bulk | Ship year-round once cured |
Medjool is the variety Gulf retail and gifting demand centres on, because size and appearance carry the sale. If your requirement is a processing input rather than a shelf product, a semi-dry or dry type is usually the better purchase and a cheaper one.
Where Medjool Is Grown
Egyptian Medjool comes principally from the Siwa oasis and the New Valley. Both are desert oasis environments with very low humidity at ripening, which is the condition a soft date needs: high humidity at the wrong moment is what causes skin splitting and fermentation in the bunch.
Egyptian Medjool has also built volume outside the region, which is a useful reference point when qualifying the origin: see Egyptian Medjool date export growth in Germany, Indonesia and Turkey.
Harvest and Year-Round Supply
Dates are harvested once a year, from August into October. Everything shipped outside that window comes out of storage, and that is the single most important thing to understand about buying dates.
- August to October — new crop. This is when the full size range is available and when programmes should be contracted.
- November onward — stored crop. Available all year, with the size range narrowing as the best grades are allocated first.
- Before Ramadan — the tightest period of the year on Medjool, because Gulf demand concentrates and stock has already been committed.
The practical rule: a buyer who wants large-count Medjool for Ramadan should be contracting in the autumn, not in the weeks before.
What to Specify on a Medjool Contract
- Size grade — the main price driver on Medjool. State the grade rather than asking for large dates.
- Moisture — which governs texture and storage life, and is what separates a date that stays soft from one that dries on the shelf.
- Whole or pitted — pitted is a processing input; whole is a retail product. Decide before pricing.
- Defect tolerance — skin separation, blemish and crystallisation limits.
- Crop year — stated on the contract, not assumed. New crop and stored crop are different products at different prices.
- Storage and transport temperature — soft dates are shipped chilled; the set point should be agreed and recorded.
We contract to your figures on each of these rather than to a general grade name, and the lot detail is confirmed before the fruit is drawn. The full variety and specification picture is in the complete Egyptian dates export guide.
Pack Formats for Bulk and Retail
| Format | Suits | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk carton | Distributors and wholesalers | Carton size built to your handling and storage |
| Vacuum or sealed pack | Long transit and extended shelf life | Protects texture on soft dates in particular |
| Retail pack | Supermarket shelf and gifting | Private label and market-specific labelling available |
| Pitted, bulk | Food manufacturing and processing | Specified by moisture and defect tolerance rather than appearance |
Gulf Markets and Lead Times
| Market | What we supply into it |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | Bulk Medjool for distributors and food manufacturers |
| United Arab Emirates | Bulk and retail packs for wholesalers and food service |
| Qatar and Kuwait | Bulk whole and pitted dates for distributors and manufacturers |
| Bahrain and Oman | Bulk Medjool for distributors and large-scale buyers |
The short lane is the origin’s structural advantage into the Gulf. On a soft date it matters more than it does on a hard commodity, because fewer days at sea means less time for texture to move.
Documents and Compliance
- Phytosanitary certificate and certificate of origin on every shipment
- Commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading, checked against the physical load
- Lot-level traceability back to the growing area and crop year
- Any additional certificate a destination market requires, arranged on request
Certificate numbers, issuing bodies and validity dates go to buyers on request rather than being published here. Which Egyptian authority signs off which document is set out in Egypt’s export control bodies.
Ramadan and the Gifting Season
Dates are the one category in the Gulf produce trade where the demand peak is fixed by the calendar rather than the weather, and it moves earlier each year. That has two consequences for a buyer.
- Large-count Medjool is allocated months ahead. The grades that sell for gifting are the first to go.
- Retail and private-label artwork has a lead time of its own, on top of the fruit. A gifting pack agreed late is a gifting pack that misses the season.
Private-label development for retail chains and seasonal pack programmes are both things we do, and both need to start in the autumn for the following Ramadan.
Related PEI Trade Guides
- Complete Egyptian dates export guide — all varieties and specifications.
- Egyptian Medjool export growth in Germany, Indonesia and Turkey — the origin’s record outside the Gulf.
- Egyptian produce export calendar — harvest windows and lead times.
- Packing and labelling standards — cartons, retail packs and compliance.
- Egypt’s export control bodies — who signs which document.
Egyptian Dates for Gulf Import: FAQ
When are Egyptian dates harvested?
Once a year, from August into October, across Medjool, Siwi and Zaghloul. Anything shipped outside that window comes out of storage, which is why crop year should be stated on the contract rather than assumed.
Can I get Medjool dates year-round?
Yes, from stored crop. Medjool is a soft date held in chilled or frozen storage, so it ships through the year, but the size range narrows as the season goes on because the best grades are allocated first.
What should I specify when ordering Medjool?
Size grade, moisture, whole or pitted, defect tolerance, crop year, and the transport temperature. Size grade is the main price driver; moisture is what decides whether the date stays soft on the shelf.
Where is Egyptian Medjool grown?
Principally the Siwa oasis and the New Valley. Both are very low-humidity desert environments at ripening, which is what a soft date needs to avoid skin splitting and fermentation in the bunch.
How long does shipping to the Gulf take?
Gulf destinations run roughly 5 to 10 days from Egyptian ports, with the actual transit confirmed per booking. On a soft date the short lane matters, because fewer days at sea means less time for texture to move.
When should I contract for Ramadan?
In the autumn, with the new crop. Large-count Medjool for gifting is allocated months ahead, and retail or private-label artwork has its own lead time on top of the fruit.
What documents come with a date shipment?
Phytosanitary certificate, certificate of origin, commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading, with lot-level traceability to the growing area and crop year. Any additional certificate a destination market requires is arranged on request.
Do you supply pitted dates in bulk?
Yes, for food manufacturing and processing. Pitted product is specified by moisture and defect tolerance rather than appearance, which usually makes it a different and cheaper purchase from retail whole fruit.
Request a Date Offer
Send the destination port, the variety and size grade, whole or pitted, the tonnage, the pack format and the months you need. We will quote against the current crop and storage position and say what is still uncommitted.
- Specification form: send your requirement here
- Email: [email protected]
- WhatsApp: message the dates desk