EU ice cream production fell by 1.4% in 2023

In 2023, the EU produced 3.2 billion litres of ice cream, marking a 1.4% decrease compared with 2022 (3.3 billion litres).

Among the EU countries, Germany was the main producer of ice cream in 2023, producing 612 million litres, followed by France (568 million litres) and Italy (527 million litres). 

As well as being the largest ice cream producer in 2023, Germany produced on average the lowest-priced ice cream at €1.8 per litre. France reported an average price of €2.2 per litre of ice cream, while Italy’s average price stood at €2.6 per litre.

The most expensive ice cream was produced in Austria, with an average price of € 7.7 per litre of ice cream, followed by Hungary with €4.8 per litre and Greece with €3.7 per litre.

In addition to Germany, the cheapest ice cream was produced in Lithuania, with an average price of €1.9 per litre, followed by Czechia with €2.0 per litre and Sweden with € 2.1 per litre. 

Source dataset: DS-056120

France accounted for a fifth of the total extra-EU ice cream exports

In 2023, the EU countries exported 261 million kg of ice cream to non-EU countries, worth a total of €1.04 billion. On the other hand, imports of ice cream from non-EU countries amounted to 56 million kg, valued at €217 million. The quantity of exports increased by 5% compared with 2022 (249 million kg), while extra-EU imports decreased by 8% in 2023 (61 million kg).

France exported 52 million kg of ice cream in 2023 to non-EU countries, accounting for 20% of EU ice cream exports. This made it the largest ice cream exporter in the EU, ahead of the Netherlands (35 million kg of ice cream; 14% of EU ice cream exports), Germany (29 million kg; 11%), Italy (28 million kg; 11%) and Ireland (24 million kg; 9%). 

Source dataset: DS-016894