EU Ice-Cream Production Rises 1.9% to 3.44 Billion Litres in 2025
EU ice-cream production reached 3.44 billion litres in 2025, up 1.9% from 3.38 billion litres a year earlier. Germany remained the largest producer, while Italy recorded the strongest growth among the five leading markets.
EU output advances for another year
Ice-cream production in the European Union increased to 3.44 billion litres in 2025, according to Eurostat data reported by Wiadomości Handlowe. Output was 1.9% higher than the 3.38 billion litres produced in 2024, extending growth in one of Europe’s largest processed dairy and frozen-food categories.
The increase was moderate at the EU level, but the figures show expansion across all five countries included at the top of the production ranking. These markets together produced 2.41 billion litres, equivalent to about 70% of the EU total. Their scale makes changes in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Belgium particularly relevant to manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, cold-chain operators and retailers across the bloc.
Germany retains lead as Italy grows fastest
Germany remained the EU’s largest ice-cream producer with 608 million litres in 2025. Italy ranked second with 549 million litres, followed by France with 525 million litres. Spain produced 457 million litres, while Belgium completed the leading five with 274 million litres.
Germany’s lead over Italy stood at 59 million litres, but their growth rates differed sharply. German production increased by only 0.2% from 2024, the weakest gain among the five leaders. Italy expanded output by 10%, the fastest rate in the group. If those contrasting rates persist, competition for first place could tighten, although the available data provide no forecast for subsequent years.
France increased production by 4%, maintaining third place and remaining 24 million litres behind Italy. Belgium recorded a 6% rise, the second-highest growth rate among the leading producers, while Spain expanded by 2%. The results indicate that the EU-wide increase was not evenly distributed: faster gains in Italy, Belgium and France contrasted with near-flat output in Germany.
Poland remains outside the published ranking
Poland did not appear in the official list of the five largest producers because its sold-production data are confidential, Wiadomości Handlowe reported. The absence therefore cannot be treated as evidence of a contraction or loss of industrial capacity. It reflects a restriction on publication rather than a disclosed production result.
Poland had ranked fifth one year earlier, when its production increased by 29%. That earlier growth rate highlights the country’s potential importance within the wider European market, but the confidential 2025 figure prevents a direct comparison with Belgium’s 274 million litres or an assessment of whether Poland retained a position near the leading group.
Capacity and competition shape the market
The 2025 data underline the concentration of EU ice-cream manufacturing in a limited number of countries. Germany, Italy and France alone accounted for 1.68 billion litres, close to half of total EU output. Spain and Belgium added substantial capacity, further reinforcing the role of Western European plants in supplying the regional market.
For producers and processors, the main competitive signal is Italy’s double-digit expansion against Germany’s almost unchanged volume. Retailers and distributors also face a broader supply base as every disclosed top-five producer raised output. However, the figures cover production rather than consumption, prices or cross-border shipments, so they do not establish whether the additional volume was absorbed domestically, exported within the EU or sold to markets outside the bloc.
