Ireland was the fifth-highest among EU member states in exports of ice cream to non-EU countries in 2023, according to new figures from the EU's central statistics body.

EU countries exported 261 million kilogrammes of ice cream to non-EU countries in 2023, worth a total of €1.04 billion, Eurostat's figures show.

The quantity of exports increased by 5% compared to 2022, which saw 249 million kilogrammes exported.

France accounted for a fifth of the total EU exports, exporting 52 million kilogrammes in 2023 to non-EU countries, accounting for 20% of EU exports.

This made it the largest ice cream exporter in the EU, ahead of the Netherlands, with 35 million kilogrammes, or 14% of EU exports; Germany, with 29 million kilogrammes, or 11% of EU exports; Italy, with 28 million kilogrammes, or about 11%; and Ireland, with 24 million kilogrammes, accounting for 9%.

On the other hand, imports of ice cream from non-EU countries amounted to only 56 million kilogrammes, valued at €217 million.

The quantity of imports into the EU decreased by 8% compared to the figure for 2022, which was 61 million kilogrammes.

The EU's overall production of ice cream decreased slightly in 2023 compared to the previous year, the statistics show.

According to Eurostat, the EU produced 3.2 billion litres in 2023, a 1.4% decrease on 2022, when 3.3 billion litres was produced.

Among EU countries, Germany was the main producer in 2023, producing 612 million litres, followed by France (568 million litres) and Italy (527 million litres).

The total overall production figure for Ireland last year (based on product sold) was not available. This was also the case for nine other member states.

Three member states - Cyprus, Luxembourg and Malta, are not included in these statistics due to their economic size.

As well as being the largest producer in 2023, Germany produced, on average, the lowest-price ice cream at €1.80/L.

France reported an average price of €2.20/L, while Italy's average price stood at €2.60/L.

As well as Germany, the cheapest ice cream was produced in Lithuania, with an average price of €1.90/L, followed by Czechia with €2/L and Sweden with €2.10/L.

The most expensive ice cream was produced in Austria, with an average price of €7.70/L, followed by Hungary with €4.80c/L and €3.70c/L.