Overall, the value of exported ice cream rose by an average 34.8% for all exporting countries from 5 years earlier in 2019 when ice cream shipments were valued at $4.37 billion.
Year over year, the value of globally exported ice cream increased by 9.4% compared to $5.38 billion for 2022.
The top 5 most valuable exporters of ice cream are Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Poland. That European cohort sold almost half (47.4%) of the overall value of exported ice cream in 2023.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe generated the highest dollar worth of exported ice cream during 2023 with shipments valued at $4.64 billion or over three-quarters (78.4%) of the global total. In second place were exporters in Asia at 11.1% while another 5.2% of worldwide ice cream shipments originated from sellers in North America.
Smaller percentages were provided by exporters in Latin America (2.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Oceania mostly New Zealand and Australia (1.5%), then Africa (1.2%).
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 2023.
- Germany: US$793.3 million (13.5% of exported ice cream)
- France: $630.5 million (10.7%)
- Belgium: $553.5 million (9.4%)
- Netherlands: $434.5 million (7.4%)
- Poland: $375.2 million (6.4%)
- Italy: $373.1 million (6.3%)
- Spain: $349.4 million (5.9%)
- United States: $258.6 million (4.4%)
- Hungary: $164.8 million (2.8%)
- United Kingdom: $164.4 million (2.8%)
- Thailand: $146.7 million (2.5%)
- Slovenia: $113 million (1.9%)
- South Korea: $93.1 million (1.6%)
- Serbia: $83.9 million (1.4%)
- Indonesia: $80.4 million (1.4%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped more than three-quarters (78.4%) of globally exported ice cream in 2023.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of ice cream since 2022 were: Spain (up 33.3%), Belgium (up 23%), Poland (up 22.9%) and Slovenia (up 22.2%).
Major suppliers that posted declines in their international sales of ice cream were the United States of America (down -3.2% from 2022) and Italy (down -2.1%).
Searchable List of Ice Cream Exporting Countries in 2023
The automated database below presents the 100 key exporters of ice cream during 2023.
| Rank | Exporter | Ice Cream Exports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | $793,262,000 | +21% |
| 2. | France | $630,486,000 | +10.5% |
| 3. | Belgium | $553,508,000 | +23% |
| 4. | Netherlands | $434,458,000 | +4.9% |
| 5. | Poland | $375,202,000 | +22.9% |
| 6. | Italy | $373,072,000 | -2.1% |
| 7. | Spain | $349,436,000 | +33.3% |
| 8. | United States | $258,556,000 | -3.2% |
| 9. | Hungary | $164,796,000 | +6.5% |
| 10. | United Kingdom | $164,363,000 | +3.4% |
| 11. | Thailand | $146,656,000 | +6.7% |
| 12. | Slovenia | $113,048,000 | +22.2% |
| 13. | South Korea | $93,096,000 | +20% |
| 14. | Serbia | $83,872,000 | +21.9% |
| 15. | Indonesia | $80,447,000 | +20.5% |
| 16. | Türkiye | $75,634,000 | -0.1% |
| 17. | Sweden | $71,998,000 | +4% |
| 18. | Lithuania | $64,235,000 | +33.6% |
| 19. | Czech Republic | $61,305,000 | +19.5% |
| 20. | Japan | $56,848,000 | +15.1% |
| 21. | New Zealand | $56,804,000 | +48.3% |
| 22. | Guatemala | $55,872,000 | +22.1% |
| 23. | Portugal | $53,294,000 | +9.7% |
| 24. | South Africa | $52,743,000 | +3.5% |
| 25. | mainland China | $44,042,000 | -11.8% |
| 26. | Brazil | $35,429,000 | +14.2% |
| 27. | Ireland | $34,674,000 | +40.3% |
| 28. | Austria | $34,489,000 | +65.7% |
| 29. | Canada | $34,047,000 | +20.8% |
| 30. | Russia | $33,852,000 | -37.3% |
| 31. | Greece | $33,087,000 | -5.7% |
| 32. | Ukraine | $32,524,000 | +66.9% |
| 33. | Australia | $31,709,000 | -16.6% |
| 34. | Croatia | $29,425,000 | +10.2% |
| 35. | Switzerland | $28,064,000 | +19.4% |
| 36. | Malaysia | $19,276,000 | +2% |
| 37. | Kazakhstan | $19,232,000 | -16.8% |
| 38. | Latvia | $19,187,000 | +11.1% |
| 39. | Taiwan | $18,287,000 | -33.3% |
| 40. | Romania | $17,453,000 | +58.8% |
| 41. | Denmark | $16,997,000 | +6.4% |
| 42. | Hong Kong | $16,142,000 | +96.6% |
| 43. | United Arab Emirates | $15,379,000 | -79.5% |
| 44. | North Macedonia | $15,159,000 | +3.7% |
| 45. | Philippines | $14,071,000 | +7.7% |
| 46. | Jordan | $12,719,000 | +12.2% |
| 47. | Mexico | $11,224,000 | -61.9% |
| 48. | Estonia | $10,921,000 | +37.6% |
| 49. | Finland | $10,898,000 | -5.9% |
| 50. | Costa Rica | $10,530,000 | +16.4% |
| 51. | India | $10,404,000 | +9% |
| 52. | Norway | $9,201,000 | -38.2% |
| 53. | El Salvador | $8,523,000 | +10.4% |
| 54. | Moldova | $8,428,000 | -15.3% |
| 55. | Bulgaria | $7,017,000 | +15.5% |
| 56. | Kyrgyzstan | $6,549,000 | +14.7% |
| 57. | Israel | $6,489,000 | -33.1% |
| 58. | Argentina | $6,130,000 | +7% |
| 59. | Ghana | $6,082,000 | +4.8% |
| 60. | Dominican Republic | $4,779,000 | +0.5% |
| 61. | Kenya | $4,586,000 | +22.4% |
| 62. | Belarus | $4,381,000 | +30.9% |
| 63. | Egypt | $3,766,000 | +37.5% |
| 64. | Bahrain | $3,425,000 | -6.8% |
| 65. | Trinidad/Tobago | $3,001,000 | +51.2% |
| 66. | Ecuador | $2,838,000 | +13.4% |
| 67. | Singapore | $2,810,000 | +20.4% |
| 68. | Saudi Arabia | $2,275,000 | -54.1% |
| 69. | Sri Lanka | $2,209,000 | -9.9% |
| 70. | Colombia | $2,090,000 | +53.9% |
| 71. | Fiji | $1,903,000 | -3.7% |
| 72. | Luxembourg | $1,888,000 | -5.9% |
| 73. | Kuwait | $1,802,000 | -90.2% |
| 74. | Tunisia | $1,782,000 | +48.4% |
| 75. | Libya | $1,344,000 | +56.8% |
| 76. | Zimbabwe | $878,000 | +74.6% |
| 77. | Slovakia | $841,000 | -20.7% |
| 78. | Peru | $802,000 | +0.5% |
| 79. | Armenia | $733,000 | +17.3% |
| 80. | Iran | $572,000 | -98.8% |
| 81. | Azerbaijan | $515,000 | +40.3% |
| 82. | Chile | $452,000 | 0% |
| 83. | Senegal | $445,000 | +64.8% |
| 84. | Palestine | $422,000 | -37.2% |
| 85. | Georgia | $419,000 | -22.3% |
| 86. | Greenland | $395,000 | +2.9% |
| 87. | Iceland | $350,000 | +47.7% |
| 88. | Nicaragua | $304,000 | -6.2% |
| 89. | Tanzania | $289,000 | -14.2% |
| 90. | Pakistan | $281,000 | -23.2% |
| 91. | Mauritius | $249,000 | 0% |
| 92. | Jamaica | $197,000 | -5.7% |
| 93. | Vietnam | $193,000 | +16.3% |
| 94. | Uzbekistan | $190,000 | +363.4% |
| 95. | Belize | $167,000 | +56.1% |
| 96. | Montenegro | $147,000 | +25.6% |
| 97. | Panama | $124,000 | +416.7% |
| 98. | Malta | $117,000 | +11600% |
| 99. | Morocco | $115,000 | +150% |
| 100. | Uruguay | $62,000 | -45.6% |
Focusing on the 100 leading ice cream suppliers, the fastest growers from 2022 to 2023 were Malta (up 11,600%), Panama (up 416.7%), Uzbekistan (up 363.4%), Morocco (up 150%) then Hong Kong (up 96.6%).
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 2022 data was unavailable.
Countries Earning Largest Trade Surpluses from Ice Cream
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for ice cream during 2023. 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.
- Germany: US$295 million (net export surplus up 69.8% since 2022)
- Belgium: $286.7 million (up 39.4%)
- Poland: $223.5 million (up 15.5%)
- France: $208.3 million (up 15.5%)
- Italy: $203.9 million (down -12.6%)
- Thailand: $129.8 million (up 10.8%)
- Netherlands: $93 million (down -31.1%)
- Slovenia: $88.6 million (up 20.3%)
- Hungary: $76 million (up 4.3%)
- Türkiye: $71.5 million (down -2.3%)
- Indonesia: $69.8 million (up 43%)
- Spain: $65.4 million (up 26%)
- Serbia: $49.3 million (up 25.2%)
- South Africa: $49.2 million (up 5.7%)
- Guatemala: $46.4 million (up 25%)
World-leading Germany consistently earns the highest surplus in the international trade of ice cream. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Germany’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 2023. 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$367.2 million (net export deficit up 22.2% since 2022)
- Portugal: -$127.6 million (up 58.9%)
- Austria: -$110.4 million (up 47.6%)
- Philippines: -$87.3 million (up 34.5%)
- Australia: -$77.3 million (up 76.1%)
- Romania: -$72.6 million (up 13.6%)
- Finland: -$69.5 million (up 52.4%)
- Mexico: -$67.9 million (up 119.6%)
- United States of America: -$66.5 million (down -39.7%)
- Denmark: -$65.5 million (up 4.8%)
- Sweden: -$63.1 million (up 32.3%)
- Singapore: -$59.8 million (down -2.7%)
- mainland China: -$59.4 million (up 150.8%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$54 million (down -44.2%)
- Switzerland: -$48.7 million (up 1.1%)
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)
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 November 1, 2024
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on November 1, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on November 1, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on November 1, 2024
Wikipedia, Ice cream. Accessed on November 1, 2024