Temperatures are soaring across large swathes of Europe. This brings ice cream, a product synonymous with summer, to the forefront of people’s minds as a delicious way to cool down.
Luckily, the EU has a lot of ice cream to offer. Last year, production of ice cream in the bloc rose by 2% to 3.3 billion litres, up from 3.2 billion litres in 2023, according to recent figures published by Eurostat.
When it comes to the country producing the largest quantities of ice cream, the figures may come as a surprise. For many, Italy—famed for its creamy Stracciatella ice cream— may be the first country to come to mind when thinking of this frozen delight.
However, it is Germany which is once again crowned king of the cone, churning out 607 million litres in 2024. France and Italy followed at the top with 501 million litres and 492 million litres of ice cream, respectively.
Between the top three producers and the two countries rounding out the top five sits a significant gap. Spain landed in fourth place with 378 million litres produced in 2024, and Poland ended in fifth spot, with 298 million litres of ice cream.
Smaller producers driving growth
These five countries may have produced the largest amounts of ice cream in absolute numbers, but they did not drive the 2% growth recorded between 2023 and 2024.
Poland was the only top-five country that saw its production rise compared to 2023. It produced 29% more ice cream in 2024. Meanwhile, France recorded the biggest decline (12%) among the major producers.
The decrease was slightly smaller in Italy (-7%) and Spain (-6%). The top producer, Germany, saw its production drop by 1%.
However, the production of ice cream increased in more EU countries than it decreased, resulting in an overall rise in production.
The data shows that, alongside Poland, smaller producers were the main growth drivers here. These include Belgium, which saw its production rise by 35%, as well as Bulgaria (+19%) and the Czech Republic (+15%).
France is EU leader for global ice cream exports
The amount of ice cream exported to non-EU countries increased by 1% since 2023 (to 265.3 million). Meanwhile, imports from outside the bloc rose significantly by a quarter, up by 13.6 million kg.
The ranking differs when taking into account EU countries’ sales of ice cream.
France was the largest ice cream exporter in the EU, exporting 55.9 million kg of ice cream in 2024. It accounts for one-fifth (21%) of total ice cream exports to non-EU countries.
It was followed by Italy (42.6 million kg), the Netherlands (31.9 million kg). Despite being the most prominent ice cream producer in the EU, Germany exports just 28.2 million kg of this product outside of the bloc. This indicates it directs its sales more within the single market and to its domestic consumers.
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