Overall, the value of exported ice cream rose by an average 36% for all exporting countries since 2017 when ice cream shipments were valued at $3.78 billion.
From 2020 to 2021, the value of globally exported ice cream expanded by 15.1%.
The top 5 most valuable exporters of ice cream are Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Italy. That European cohort sold almost half (48.1%) of the overall value of exported ice cream for 2021.
Among continents, European suppliers generated the highest dollar worth of exported ice cream during 2021 with shipments valued at $4.06 billion or almost four-fifths (78.9%) of the global total. In second place were Asian exporters at 11.4% while another 5.5% of worldwide ice cream shipments originated from North America.
Smaller percentages were provided by exporters in Latin America (1.6%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Oceania mostly New Zealand and Australia (1.5%), then Africa (1%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix for ice cream is 2105, That classification reads “ice cream and other edible ice whether or not containing cocoa.”
Ice Cream Exporters by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of ice cream during 2021.
- Germany: US$626.8 million (12.2% of exported ice cream)
- France: $600.6 million (11.7%)
- Belgium: $490.1 million (9.5%)
- Netherlands: $395.9 million (7.7%)
- Italy: $357.6 million (7%)
- Poland: $307.9 million (6%)
- United States: $260.8 million (5.1%)
- Spain: $190.8 million (3.7%)
- United Kingdom: $167.5 million (3.3%)
- Hungary: $155.2 million (3%)
- Thailand: $110.7 million (2.2%)
- Slovenia: $101.3 million (2%)
- Russia: $85.4 million (1.7%)
- Serbia: $75.9 million (1.5%)
- South Korea: $72.4 million (1.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped more than three-quarters (77.8%) of globally exported ice cream in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of ice cream since 2020 were: Russia (up 49.7%), Spain (up 49.4%), Serbia (up 42.4%) and Poland (up 29.9%).
The United Kingdom was the lone top supplier to post a decline in its international sales of ice cream, flatlining via a -0.6% slowdown.
Countries Earning Largest Trade Surpluses from Ice Cream
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for ice cream during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported ice cream and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- France: US$259.2 million (net export surplus down -3.1% since 2020)
- Italy: $218.1 million (up 38.7%)
- Belgium: $199.4 million (down -12.9%)
- Poland: $190.4 million (up 31.3%)
- Germany: $143.1 million (down -17.6%)
- Netherlands: $135.6 million (up 38.7%)
- Thailand: $95.9 million (up 26.3%)
- Slovenia: $82.5 million (up 35.4%)
- Hungary: $79.2 million (up 13.8%)
- Turkey: $52.5 million (up 29.3%)
- Serbia: $50.9 million (up 63.7%)
- Lithuania: $45.5 million (up 28.2%)
- South Africa: $39.9 million (up 75.4%)
- Iran: $35.3 million (up 2.2%)
- Russia: $30.9 million (reversing a -$3.9 million deficit)
France consistently earns the highest surplus in the international trade of ice cream. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms France’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Facing Worst Trade Deficits from Ice Cream
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for ice cream during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported ice cream purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United Kingdom: -US$304.4 million (net export deficit up 20.6% since 2020)
- Saudi Arabia: -$89.8 million (up 10.7%)
- Austria: -$77.9 million (down -2.1%)
- Romania: -$70.1 million (up 32.1%)
- Denmark: -$69.9 million (up 4.2%)
- Portugal: -$65.2 million (up 13.4%)
- Sweden: -$61.1 million (up 34.2%)
- China: -$60.4 million (up 38.2%)
- Singapore: -$59.8 million (up 21.4%)
- Ireland: -$53.6 million (down -27.9%)
- Mexico: -$53.4 million (down -4.3%)
- Malaysia: -$50.8 million (up 23%)
- Finland: -$50.3 million (up 14.6%)
- Hong Kong: -$47.9 million (up 7.7%)
- Switzerland: -$44 million (down -4.8%)
The United Kingdom incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of ice cream. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights the UK’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for ice cream-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand.
Ice Cream Exporting Companies
According to global trading platform Alibaba, the following suppliers are examples of ice cream-trading exporters. The home-country location for each business is shown within parentheses.
- EUROBRANDS Lebensmittelgrosshandel (Germany)
- Exportame Consulting SLNE (Spain)
- Luxor Co Ltd (South Korea)
- Maggio Nicola (Italy)
- Mirawell General Trading LLC (United Arab Emirates)
- MN Ice cream (Thailand)
- NAS Gido Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi (Turkey)
- RLA Distribution Services Ltd (United States)
- SAS Khassani (France)
- UK Frozen Food Ltd (United Kingdom)
Searchable List of Ice Cream Exporting Countries in 2021
The automated database below presents the 100 key exporters of ice cream during 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Ice Cream Exports | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $626,807,000 | +5.1% |
| 2. | France | $600,624,000 | +8.7% |
| 3. | Belgium | $490,102,000 | +11.3% |
| 4. | Netherlands | $395,859,000 | +14.9% |
| 5. | Italy | $357,615,000 | +29.4% |
| 6. | Poland | $307,931,000 | +29.9% |
| 7. | United States | $260,816,000 | +2.5% |
| 8. | Spain | $190,790,000 | +49.4% |
| 9. | United Kingdom | $167,500,000 | -0.6% |
| 10. | Hungary | $155,197,000 | +13.1% |
| 11. | Thailand | $110,740,000 | +25.7% |
| 12. | Slovenia | $101,281,000 | +28.3% |
| 13. | Russia | $85,375,000 | +49.7% |
| 14. | Serbia | $75,882,000 | +42.4% |
| 15. | South Korea | $72,444,000 | +19.1% |
| 16. | Sweden | $67,328,000 | +11.3% |
| 17. | Lithuania | $67,038,000 | +21.9% |
| 18. | China | $61,800,000 | +27.9% |
| 19. | Türkiye | $55,317,000 | +28.6% |
| 20. | Portugal | $53,742,000 | +26% |
| 21. | Japan | $51,018,000 | +19.4% |
| 22. | Czech Republic | $44,385,000 | +1.8% |
| 23. | Taiwan | $43,718,000 | -1.7% |
| 24. | South Africa | $42,800,000 | +68.5% |
| 25. | New Zealand | $40,975,000 | +14.5% |
| 26. | Guatemala | $38,142,000 | +46.6% |
| 27. | Indonesia | $35,909,000 | +40.1% |
| 28. | Iran | $35,250,000 | +2.2% |
| 29. | Australia | $35,047,000 | +2.4% |
| 30. | Greece | $34,242,000 | +30.4% |
| 31. | United Arab Emirates | $30,228,000 | -56.6% |
| 32. | Croatia | $27,357,000 | +30.6% |
| 33. | Belarus | $23,805,000 | +4.8% |
| 34. | Switzerland | $22,385,000 | -3.1% |
| 35. | Ireland | $20,986,000 | +33.6% |
| 36. | Malaysia | $19,035,000 | +13.3% |
| 37. | Ukraine | $18,709,000 | +17.7% |
| 38. | Latvia | $18,009,000 | +49.2% |
| 39. | Canada | $17,806,000 | +26.3% |
| 40. | Denmark | $16,715,000 | -7.4% |
| 41. | Austria | $15,944,000 | +223.6% |
| 42. | North Macedonia | $13,920,000 | +11.6% |
| 43. | Kuwait | $13,893,000 | +0.8% |
| 44. | Brazil | $13,344,000 | +89% |
| 45. | Romania | $13,045,000 | +130.4% |
| 46. | Norway | $11,408,000 | +91.1% |
| 47. | Kazakhstan | $9,194,000 | +11.1% |
| 48. | Finland | $8,888,000 | -11.4% |
| 49. | Estonia | $8,645,000 | +14.4% |
| 50. | India | $8,412,000 | +38% |
| 51. | Philippines | $8,410,000 | -21.8% |
| 52. | Costa Rica | $8,215,000 | -16.3% |
| 53. | Hong Kong | $7,931,000 | +21.3% |
| 54. | El Salvador | $7,591,000 | +31.1% |
| 55. | Israel | $7,433,000 | +44.3% |
| 56. | Argentina | $7,016,000 | +43.3% |
| 57. | Bulgaria | $5,879,000 | +41.8% |
| 58. | Moldova | $4,542,000 | +36.6% |
| 59. | Mexico | $4,332,000 | +483.8% |
| 60. | Kyrgyzstan | $3,501,000 | -7.1% |
| 61. | Dominican Republic | $3,235,000 | +9.4% |
| 62. | Jordan | $2,790,000 | -38.8% |
| 63. | Kenya | $2,611,000 | +12.7% |
| 64. | Saudi Arabia | $2,474,000 | +40.8% |
| 65. | Singapore | $2,090,000 | +1.8% |
| 66. | Luxembourg | $1,992,000 | +42.5% |
| 67. | Egypt | $1,912,000 | +4.2% |
| 68. | Fiji | $1,830,000 | +15% |
| 69. | Sri Lanka | $1,811,000 | +74.8% |
| 70. | Ghana | $1,734,000 | -45.8% |
| 71. | Trinidad/Tobago | $1,589,000 | +26.9% |
| 72. | Suriname | $1,128,000 | 0% |
| 73. | Slovakia | $993,000 | -38.9% |
| 74. | Peru | $895,000 | +110.1% |
| 75. | Tunisia | $864,000 | +715.1% |
| 76. | Chile | $776,000 | +1890% |
| 77. | Colombia | $654,000 | +40.3% |
| 78. | Georgia | $638,000 | +209.7% |
| 79. | Syria | $622,000 | +28.2% |
| 80. | Bahrain | $566,000 | -79.2% |
| 81. | Armenia | $553,000 | +20.2% |
| 82. | Libya | $472,000 | 0% |
| 83. | Zimbabwe | $432,000 | +45.9% |
| 84. | Greenland | $431,000 | -7.3% |
| 85. | Azerbaijan | $378,000 | +65.1% |
| 86. | Pakistan | $348,000 | +46.8% |
| 87. | Guyana | $340,000 | -56.2% |
| 88. | Pitcairn | $299,000 | 0% |
| 89. | Iceland | $284,000 | -11.5% |
| 90. | Nicaragua | $265,000 | -85% |
| 91. | Uruguay | $262,000 | -27.8% |
| 92. | Ecuador | $259,000 | +286.6% |
| 93. | Vietnam | $229,000 | -63.9% |
| 94. | Barbados | $141,000 | +98.6% |
| 95. | Lebanon | $133,000 | +141.8% |
| 96. | Tanzania | $132,000 | +57.1% |
| 97. | Curaçao | $102,000 | -56.4% |
| 98. | Senegal | $95,000 | -5.9% |
| 99. | Belize | $74,000 | +37% |
| 100. | Qatar | $52,000 | -70.8% |
Focusing on the 100 leading ice cream suppliers, the fastest growers from 2020 to 2021 were Chile (up 1,890%), Tunisia (up 715.1%), Mexico (up 483.8%), Ecuador (up 286.6%), Austria (up 223.6%), Georgia (up 209.7%), Lebanon (up 141.8%), Romania (up 130.4%), then Peru (up 110.1%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2020 data was unavailable.
See also Sugar Exports by Country, Top Cookies Exporters by Country, Natural Honey Exporters, Maple Syrup Exporters by Country and Candy Sweets Exports by Country
Research Sources:
Alibaba, Supplier showroom for ice cream. Accessed on August 29, 2022
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on August 29, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on August 29, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on August 29, 2022
Wikipedia, Ice cream. Accessed on August 29, 2022
