Serbia’s ice cream exports reach €102.49 million in 2025
Serbia exported 35,733 tonnes of ice cream worth €102.49 million in 2025, generating a €55.9 million trade surplus. Bulgaria remained the largest foreign market, while shipments to the United Kingdom and Switzerland recorded the strongest growth.
Exports absorb most of Serbia’s output
Serbia exported 35,733 tonnes of ice cream with a total value of €102.49 million in 2025, according to data from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia reported by Kurir. Export revenue increased by 1.6% from 2024, consolidating the country’s position as a sizable supplier to European retail and food-service markets.
Domestic factories produced 53,010 tonnes during the year. That means exports were equivalent to roughly two-thirds of reported production, although production and customs statistics are not necessarily directly comparable. Output has expanded substantially since 2020, when Serbia produced 33,818 tonnes. Production reached 42,114 tonnes in 2021 and was more than 56% higher in 2025 than five years earlier. Annual production corresponds to about eight kilograms per inhabitant, but a large share is sold abroad rather than consumed domestically.
Bulgaria leads a broad network of markets
Bulgaria remained Serbia’s largest ice cream export destination in 2025, receiving 8,748 tonnes worth almost €21.9 million. It was followed by Greece, the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany. Other significant destinations included Montenegro, Croatia, Romania, Poland, North Macedonia, Spain, Albania and Australia.
The fastest expansion came in markets farther from Serbia’s traditional regional customer base. Exports to the United Kingdom increased by 68.8%, while shipments to Switzerland rose by 79.5%. Sales to Albania and Finland also grew significantly, and Hungary emerged as a new market. The figures point to a business that still relies heavily on nearby European destinations but is gaining access to a wider mix of mature and more distant markets.
Three industrial producers underpin capacity
Veljko Jovanović, an adviser to the president of the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, told Dnevnik that Serbia has three large industrial ice cream producers: Frikom, Froneri Adriatik and Swisslion-Takovo. Frikom manufactures in Belgrade and has operated within the British multinational Nomad Foods group since 2021. Its established brands include Kapri, Rumenko, Macho, King and Quattro.
Froneri Adriatik operates a factory in Stari Banovci producing cones, cups and family-sized packages for domestic and foreign customers. Around €50 million has been invested in its production capacity. Products from the plant are shipped to almost every European country as well as Israel, South Africa, Australia and the United States, giving Serbia’s industry a geographic reach beyond its core European market.
Serbia also imported 12,116 tonnes of ice cream worth €46.59 million in 2025. Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Poland and Slovenia were the main suppliers. The combination of strong exports and lower imports produced a €55.9 million trade surplus in ice cream. Kurir reported that export value was 220% of import value, highlighting the sector’s net contribution to Serbia’s processed-food trade despite continued demand for foreign products.
