Morocco’s lemon exports surge, Russia becomes top buyer

Morocco exported 11,400 tons of lemons worth more than $6 million between October 2025 and March 2026, already surpassing the country’s total exports for the entire 2024/25 season, according to EastFruit.

The figure represents a 17% increase over last season and more than double the export volumes recorded in 2023/24. February marked the seasonal peak, with 4,200 tons shipped abroad.

Russia emerged as the main destination, increasing imports sevenfold and accounting for 48.2% of Morocco’s lemon exports. Mauritania ranked second, followed by the United Kingdom despite a 25% drop in volumes.

Meanwhile, Spain recorded a 25-fold increase in imports to become the fourth-largest market, followed by France with a 5.1% share. Saudi Arabia posted the sharpest rise, with imports increasing more than 1,000-fold compared to the previous season.

Additional growth was recorded in Italy, Mali, Nigeria and Gambia, while exports to Canada, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso declined.

According to EastFruit, Morocco is now on track to potentially match or exceed its record 2019/20 lemon export season, when shipments reached 17,100 tons.