Overall, the value of exported ice cream rose by an average 18.2% for all exporting countries since 2018 when ice cream shipments were valued at $4.42 billion.
Year over year, the value of globally exported ice cream flatlined via a 0.4% gain compared to $5.21 billion for 2021.
The top 5 most valuable exporters of ice cream are Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands and Italy. That European cohort sold almost half (47.1%) of the overall value of exported ice cream in 2022.
Among continents, suppliers in Europe generated the highest dollar worth of exported ice cream during 2022 with shipments valued at $4.04 billion or over three-quarters (77.3%) of the global total. In second place were Asian exporters at 11.6% while another 6.2% 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 2022.
- Germany: US$653.6 million (12.5% of exported ice cream)
- France: $570 million (10.9%)
- Belgium: $450.1 million (8.6%)
- Netherlands: $414 million (7.9%)
- Italy: $376.1 million (7.2%)
- Poland: $305.2 million (5.8%)
- United States: $267.2 million (5.1%)
- Spain: $262.1 million (5%)
- United Kingdom: $158.9 million (3%)
- Hungary: $154.5 million (3%)
- Thailand: $137.4 million (2.6%)
- Slovenia: $92.5 million (1.8%)
- South Korea: $77.6 million (1.5%)
- Türkiye: $75.7 million (1.4%)
- Sweden: $69.3 million (1.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped more than three-quarters (77.7%) of globally exported ice cream in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing exporters of ice cream since 2021 were: Spain (up 37.4%), Türkiye (up 36.8%), Thailand (up 24.1%) and South Korea (up 7.1%).
Major suppliers that posted declines in their international sales of ice cream were led by: Slovenia (down -8.6% from 2021), Belgium (down -8.2%), France (down -5.1%), United Kingdom (down -4.9%) and Poland (down -0.9%).
Searchable List of Ice Cream Exporting Countries in 2022
The automated database below presents the 100 key exporters of ice cream during 2022.
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 2021 to 2022 were Ecuador (up 866.4%), Mexico (up 579.2%), Senegal (up 184.2%), Lebanon (up 180.5%) then Tanzania (up 155.3%).
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 2021 data was unavailable.
Countries Earning Largest Trade Surpluses from Ice Cream
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for ice cream during 2022. 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.
- Italy: US$230.2 million (net export surplus up 0.5% since 2021)
- Belgium: $205.8 million (up 3.2%)
- Poland: $193.6 million (up 1.6%)
- France: $182 million (down -29.8%)
- Germany: $172.7 million (up 42.9%)
- Netherlands: $134.8 million (down -2.1%)
- Thailand: $117.1 million (up 22.2%)
- Slovenia: $73.7 million (down -10.5%)
- Türkiye: $73.2 million (up 39.5%)
- Hungary: $72.5 million (down -8.4%)
- Spain: $51.9 million (reversing a -$6.2 million deficit)
- Indonesia: $48.8 million (up 1414.8%)
- South Africa: $46.6 million (up 16.9%)
- Serbia: $39.3 million (down -22.8%)
- Guatemala: $37.3 million (up 23.7%)
Italy consistently earns the highest surplus in the international trade of ice cream. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Italy’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 2022. 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$300.5 million (net export deficit up 0.7% since 2021)
- United States: -$110.2 million (up 4264.2%)
- Portugal: -$80 million (up 21.6%)
- Austria: -$74.7 million (down -4%)
- Philippines: -$64.9 million (up 57.4%)
- Romania: -$63.9 million (down -8.9%)
- Singapore: -$61.5 million (up 2.7%)
- Denmark: -$61.3 million (down -14.5%)
- Malaysia: -$55.3 million (up 8.8%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$50.5 million (down -43.7%)
- Switzerland: -$48.2 million (up 9.4%)
- Sweden: -$48.1 million (down -21.3%)
- Finland: -$47 million (down -7.6%)
- Australia: -$43.9 million (up 48.2%)
- Slovakia: -$38.8 million (up 2.7%)
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 September 29, 2023
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 29, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 29, 2023
Wikipedia, Ice cream. Accessed on September 29, 2023