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Ice cream global trade 2024: Thailand becomes top Asian exporter; EU production grows

In a ranking dominated by Europe, Thailand becomes the 9th largest exporter of ice cream in volume, 11th in value, according to latest data from the United Nations Comtrade database.

Ice cream top producers in 2024

 

According to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), the United States produced close to 5 billion litres (1.31 billion gallons) of ice cream in 2024 [1].

Eurostat reported that the EU produced 3.3 billion litres of ice cream, marking a 2% increase from 2023 (3.2 billion litres) [2]. Among the EU countries, Germany was the main producer of ice cream in 2024, producing 607 million litres, followed by France (501 million litres) and Italy (492 million litres).

 

Ice cream global trade in 2024

 

Regarding global trade, Europe continued to dominate the global ice cream trade in 2024, both in exports and imports, according to data from the United Nations Comtrade database [3].

In a ranking continuously led by Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, Thailand became the world’s 9th largest exporter of ice cream in volume, 11th in value (see figure 1).

 

According to Thailand’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office, Thailand has emerged as Asia’s largest ice cream exporter, averaging an export value of 106 million US dollars per year between 2020 and 2024, with an annual growth rate of 11% [4].

 

Figure 1. Top 20 ice cream exporters in volume and value (figure created by IIR using UN Comtrade data [3])

 

 

Sources

[1] IDFA - International Dairy Foods Association. (2024). Ice Cream Sales & Trends. https://www.idfa.org/ice-cream-sales-trends

[2] Eurostat. (29 July 2025). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20250729-1

[3] UN Comtrade Database. https://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow

[4] https://thailand.prd.go.th/en/content/category/detail/id/2078/iid/389969