According to figures published by the European Union and reported by Euronews, Germany produced 607 million liters of ice cream in 2024. France ranked second with 501 million liters, followed by Italy with 492 million liters.
Overall, EU ice cream production rose 2% year over year, reaching 3.3 billion liters in 2024, up from 3.2 billion liters in 2023. Spain placed fourth with 378 million liters, and Poland rounded out the top five with 298 million liters.
Despite being among the leaders, most of the top five countries did not drive the growth. Poland was the only one to record an increase, producing 29% more ice cream than in 2023. France saw the steepest decline at 12%, while Italy’s output dropped 7%, Spain’s 6% and Germany’s just 1%.
The strongest growth came from smaller producers, including Belgium (up 35%), Bulgaria (up 19%) and the Czech Republic (up 15%).
France was the EU’s top ice cream exporter in 2024, shipping 55.9 million kilograms abroad, or 21% of all exports outside the bloc. Italy followed with 42.6 million kilograms, then the Netherlands with 31.9 million kilograms. Germany, despite being the EU’s largest producer, exported only 28.2 million kilograms beyond the bloc, focusing instead on domestic and intra-EU sales.
The European ice cream market is valued at around $30 billion annually, according to trade and data platforms.