Egyptian herbs and spices do not all arrive at once, and a buyer who plans around the calendar gets better material at a better price than one who orders when the shelf runs empty.
The chamomile season runs through the cooler months, with the finest flowers picked early before the heat sets in. Ordering against a fresh chamomile crop means ordering in advance of it, not after everyone else has.
Hibiscus follows later, harvested as the calyces ripen and dried through the dry season. Because it is one of the most visible and most traded Egyptian crops, its price is the most sensitive to a poor season anywhere in the growing region.
Seeds and grains behave differently again, with a longer storage life that flattens the seasonal swing. They are the part of an order where timing matters least, which makes them useful for balancing a shipment.
The practical point is this: if a supplier quotes you a delivery date that sits before the crop is in, ask which season the material is from. It is a fair question and it has a straightforward answer.
