Russian lemon imports from Morocco surge sixfold despite spring shipment rejections
Moroccan lemon exports to Russia are rising sharply in 2026, despite the rejection of several citrus shipments in the spring. Moscow has just released new figures showing that imports from the Kingdom increased sixfold in the first nine months of the year.
Between January and September 2026, Russia imported 4,600 tonnes of Moroccan lemons, six times more than during the same period in 2025. The figures, published on October 29 by the Russian Ministry of Transport, come from Rosselkhoznadzor, the federal agency responsible, among other things, for phytosanitary inspections.
The increase comes after several incidents at Russia’s borders. On March 30, authorities in Saint Petersburg barred the entry of 48.4 tonnes of lemons and oranges from Morocco. Inspectors found irregularities in the phytosanitary certificates and noted that the fruit names on the packaging did not match the documents presented.
A few days earlier, another Moroccan shipment of 18.7 tonnes of mandarins had been rejected at the same port. This time, tests revealed the presence of a harmful insect, prompting an import ban.
The new Russian statistics show that these isolated rejections did not prevent trade from growing. In the first nine months of 2026, Morocco supplied 47,200 tonnes of agricultural products subject to Russian phytosanitary inspections, across all categories.
For lemons, however, the Kingdom remains behind its African competitors. South Africa delivered 58,400 tonnes to Russia over the same period, an increase of 46%, while imports from Egypt reached 11,300 tonnes, up 39.3%.
Lemons are not the only Moroccan fruit gaining ground in this market. Russian imports of Moroccan blueberries also rose by 11.7%, reaching 1,500 tonnes between January and September.
