The ice cream industry in Bulgaria is facing a significant decline, with production dropping by between 60% and 70% over the past six years. Eurostat data revealed that in 2018 Bulgaria produced 29.6 million liters of ice cream, marking the highest output ever. However, production fell to 19 million liters in 2020, further decreasing to 14 million liters in 2021, and is projected to fall to just over 11 million liters in 2023. This represents more than a 60% drop in production since 2018, although data for 2019 and 2022 are not available.
Despite this sharp decline in production, ice cream consumption in Bulgaria has remained relatively stable, with only a slight dip in 2020. According to the National Statistical Institute data, consumption fell from 13 million liters before the pandemic to 10 million liters in 2020, but rebounded to 13 million liters in 2021 and had maintained this level since, indicating that imported ice cream might be filling the gap.
Currently, about 50 enterprises in Bulgaria produce ice cream, not including those serving public catering establishments such as pastry shops. In comparison to other EU countries, Bulgaria is not a major ice cream producer. Italy, renowned for its gelato, ranks third with 527 million liters produced annually in 2023. France follows with 568 million liters, while Germany leads with 612 million liters.
Germany not only produces the most ice cream in Europe but also sells it at the lowest average price of 1.80 euros per liter. France’s average price is 2.20 euros per liter, while Italy’s is 2.60 euros. Conversely, Austria has the highest average price at 7.70 euros per liter, followed by Hungary at 4.80 euros and Greece at 3.70 euros per liter. (Novinite)