Greece’s ice cream industry reached about €188 million ($218 million) in trade value in 2025, with the country importing far more ice cream than it sold abroad, according to new research from Eurostat.
Greece brought in roughly 19.5 million kilograms (43 million pounds) of ice cream last year while shipping out about 8.3 million kilograms (18.3 million pounds), Eurostat figures show.
That gap means Greece imported more than double what it exported, a pattern that kept the country on the buying side of Europe’s ice cream trade. Among the EU’s 27 member states, Greece ranked 16th in imports and 19th in exports, placing it in the middle to lower tier of the bloc’s ice cream traders.
EU ice cream production and non-EU trade both grew in 2025
Across the wider EU, production climbed to 3.44 billion litres (0.91 billion gallons) in 2025, up 1.9% from 3.38 billion litres (0.89 billion gallons) in 2024, researchers at Eurostat found. Germany stayed the bloc’s largest producer at 608 million litres (160.6 million gallons), though output there grew just 0.2%.
Italy followed with 549 million litres (145 million gallons), a 10% rise, then France at 525 million litres (138.7 million gallons), up 4%. Spain and Belgium rounded out the top five, producing 457 million litres (120.7 million gallons) and 274 million litres (72.4 million gallons), gains of 2% and 6%.
Trade with countries outside the EU also expanded. Member states exported 289.8 million kilograms (638.9 million pounds) of ice cream beyond the bloc, a 10% rise that added 26 million kilograms (57.3 million pounds) over 2024. Imports from non-EU countries grew faster still, up 12% to 77.8 million kilograms (171.5 million pounds).
How Greece’s ice cream industry compares with Europe’s biggest traders
France led all exporters to outside markets, sending 59.1 million kilograms (130.3 million pounds), a fifth of the EU total. Italy followed with 55.2 million kilograms (121.7 million pounds), then Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands rounded out the top five.
Set against bigger players, Greece’s ice cream industry looks modest. Germany alone imported 152.7 million kilograms (336.6 million pounds) and exported 190 million kilograms (418.9 million pounds) in 2025, far above Greece’s totals.
The gap shows how much smaller a role Greek producers play in shipping ice cream beyond their home market, compared with the EU’s largest traders.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
