IRELAND EXPORTS ALMOST 25 million kilograms of ice cream last year, ranking it the fifth-largest exporter of the frozen treat in the EU.

According to Eurostat, 9% of Europe’s ice cream comes from Ireland, placing behind Italy, Germany, Netherlands and France. In total, 261 million kilograms of sundaes was exported from the EU to non-EU countries last year.

Though member states produced 3.2 billion litres of ice cream, there was a 1.4% reduction in the production of the frozen good last year, compared to 2022.

There was a similar reduction in the level of dairy exports last year. A total of €4.08 billion of dairy products and birds’ eggs were exported by Ireland last year to other countries. In 2022, €4.35 billion worth of the goods were exported.

Dairy and eggs were the second-largest collection of goods in the Food and Live Animal group that were exported last year.

France ranked top of the table for ice cream exports last year, with 20% of Europe’s ice cream coming from the country. Approximately 52 million kilograms of French ice cream was exported out of the EU last year.

Ireland’s ice cream market, according to Dairyglen in 2020, is worth €150 million. The global gelato market is worth around €56.7 billion. Around a third of purchases of choc ices, and the likes, are impulse buys.

The most expensive ice cream in the EU was produced in Austria, with an average price of €7.70 per litre. The cheapest cone can be found in Sweden, at €2.10 per litre.

Europeans are the largest consumers of ice cream globally.