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The market research firm Mintel says China has overtaken the United States as the world’s biggest ice cream market. Between 2008 and 2014, the total market value for ice cream sales in China has nearly doubled, soaring 90% to $11.4 billion. Meanwhile, the U.S. market has grown at a much slower rate, climbing by 15% over the same period to $11.2 billion.
Overall, global sales of ice cream reached $50 billion in 2014, increasing by 9% from 2011 when sales were valued at $46 billion.
Accounting for one-third of all ice cream products sold in 2014, sales in China reached 5.9 billion liters in 2014, compared to 5.8 billion liters in the United States. In 2015, the Chinese are expected to consume 6.3 billion liters in China, which would be valued at $12.6 billion. 2015 sales in the United States are expected to hit $11.4 billion.
The top five ice cream markets by volume globally are: