We invented it, but Berlin and Paris surpass us in production and exports. Third place in Europe for the Bel Paese, which however remains at the top when it comes to consumption of the dessert born at the court of Caterina de’ Medici, in the second half of the sixteenth century. Germany wins for the second consecutive year with 612 million liters (Eurostat 2023 data). Next comes France with 568 million liters and then Italy which goes from 571 million liters to 527. The contraction does not only concern Rome. In the EU countries, production fell by 1.4% (3.2 billion liters against 3.3 billion in 2022). Only Spain recorded an acceleration (+80 million liters).
France wins when it comes to exports. A fifth of extra-EU exports come from beyond the Alps, with 52 million kilos. In second place is the Netherlands (35 million) and in third place is Germany (29 million). Italy is fourth (28 million kilos) covering 11% of the production for exports of the countries of the Union. An increase of 5% compared to 2022, with a turnover of 1.04 billion euros. On the other hand, extra-EU ice cream imports decreased by 8% compared to the previous year. And the costs? Here too, Germany is in first place, with the lowest priced ice cream (1.8 euros per liter), followed by that of Lithuania (1.9 euros per liter) and then that of the Czech Republic (2 euros per liter). Italy? It does not reach the 7.7 euros per liter of the most expensive ice cream in Europe, the Austrian one, but it is at 2.6 euros per liter. France is the cheapest with 2.2 euros per liter. In general, compared to a year ago, ice cream in Europe costs 30 cents more per liter, with an average price in 2023 of 2.27 euros per liter. So Italy is above average.
However, we remain first in the rankings if we consider consumption. According to Coldiretti, Italians are first in Europe. If you look at the whole world, the United States and Australia are in the lead. But it also depends on habits. In Germany, for example, industrial ice cream wins, so much so that artisanal ice cream shops have gone from 6,100 to 4,900 in thirteen years. In Italy, however, there are over 40,000 ice cream shops and pastry shops with artisanal ice cream.
Italians are therefore increasingly consumers (and fewer producers). We eat more of it and the growth is constant: +6%, 3.7 billion portions of packaged ice cream sold every year, a turnover of almost 2 billion euros for industrial ice cream and 3 billion for artisanal ice cream, an annual expenditure for Italians per capita of about 43 euros. And according to AstraRicerche: consumption will increase by 30% by 2025. But the high price of ice cream is a reality. The prices of a one-kilo tub of ice cream in Italy have increased by 30% in the last three years.
