Fresh herbs are one of the few Egyptian export categories where a mid-size buyer is not at a disadvantage. Volumes are small by nature, the value per kilo is high, and the trade runs on frequent shipments rather than on full container programmes. That suits a distributor placing a few hundred kilos a week far better than it suits a trader chasing twenty five tonne loads. This note covers what Egypt actually supplies and how the logistics work.
What is available and when
The core fresh herb range out of Egypt is mint, both spearmint and Moroccan type, basil in sweet and Genovese types, dill, coriander, flat leaf and curly parsley, chives, rocket, thyme, sage and rosemary. Growing is concentrated in the Nile Delta and around the Fayoum and Nubaria areas, with tunnel and open field production combined so that most lines are available across the year.
The seasonal texture matters more than the presence or absence of a crop. Winter and spring, roughly November to May, give the strongest quality on basil and mint, with good leaf colour and stem length. Peak summer, July and August, is the difficult period. Field heat shortens vase life and increases the risk of leaf blackening on basil in particular, so summer shipments need tighter pre cooling and shorter routes. Buyers who plan around that reality rather than against it get consistent quality.
Formats
Two packing routes dominate. Loose bunched herbs are tied into bunches of 20 to 30 grams or 50 grams depending on the market, packed into ventilated cartons of 2 to 5 kilos net, and sold on to wholesale and food service. Retail ready punnets or flow wrapped packs of 20, 30 or 50 grams are packed into master cartons and go straight onto a supermarket shelf. Punnet work carries a higher packing cost and needs artwork approval in advance, but the margin at destination is considerably better.
Herbs are also supplied chilled in cartons on Euro pallets of 80 by 120 centimetres or on standard 100 by 120 centimetre pallets, depending on the destination handling system. Confirm the pallet base with your receiver before the first shipment, because a mismatch means repalletising on arrival.
Air freight versus sea
Most fresh herb volume from Egypt moves by air, out of Cairo, with transit measured in hours rather than days. That is the right choice for basil, which is the most fragile line, and for any programme where the receiver needs seven to ten days of remaining shelf life. Herbs must not be shipped below approximately 8 degrees Celsius, because basil suffers chilling injury and blackens, which makes a shared load with citrus or grapes at 2 to 4 degrees unworkable.
Sea shipment is possible for hardier lines such as rosemary, thyme, sage and mint on short Mediterranean routes, held at 4 to 6 degrees with high humidity, but it is not the standard route and should be trialled before it is contracted. Where herbs travel with other products, the temperature constraint drives the decision, which is the same logic set out in our note on which Egyptian products can share one reefer set point.
Certification and residues
Fresh herbs attract close residue scrutiny in the European Union, and several Egyptian herb lines have historically been subject to increased border checks. Buy against a GLOBALG.A.P certified grower, ask for a residue analysis on the harvest lot rather than an annual site certificate, and confirm the pre harvest interval on every active substance used. Peivana works with GLOBALG.A.P and BRC certified partners and supplies the residue report with the shipping documents. Buyers wanting the dried equivalent of this category can read our note on Egyptian dried herbs and spices in small lots.
Peivana quotes fresh herb programmes from single pallet trial quantities upward, with same day pricing on defined specifications. To request an indication, send your line list, format and destination airport to our export team on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918.