3 kilo per person: Russians projected to eat record amount of ice cream in 2021

“These people will never be defeated,” UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill said during his visit to Moscow in the harsh winter of 1944, according to a popular legend.

The comment was allegedly made on the way to an official meeting with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, when Churchill saw a group of Muscovites eating ice cream on a snowy street through his car window.

As the years went by, Russians’ love for the cooled dessert didn't wither, but kept on growing, gradually becoming a passion.

According to the Russian Agricultural Bank, consumption of ice cream in Russia is set to increase to 3.1 kilograms per person, marking a growth of 1%, a record high over the past decade.

“The amount of ice cream consumption in Russia at the end of the current year will increase to 448,000 tons, or 3.1 kg per capita,” experts from the Center for Industry Expertise, affiliated with the lender, said.

Last year, Russians consumed 444,000 tons of the sweet cooling dessert, or three kilo per person, marking a 9% year-on-year growth.

“The surge in consumption would be a continuation of the gradual increase in demand over the past 10 years,” the analysts said, stressing that Russian ice cream producers could further ramp up exports taking into account the seasonal factor of ice cream consumption in Russia.

In 2020, Russian manufacturers reportedly produced 451,000 tons of ice cream, marking an 8% growth compared to the previous year. The experts expect the output to grow to 463,000 tons by the end of the current year.

Exports of Russian ice cream grew eightfold, from 3,000 tons in 2010 to 26,000 tons last year. Sales of Russian ice cream abroad are expected to increase 15% to a record 30,000 tons by the end of 2021. Kazakhstan, the biggest importer of Russian ice cream, boosted imports by 27%, to 11,200 tons in 2020.

The growth totaled 2% to $20 million in monetary terms. The US, the second major consumer of Russian ice cream, reportedly tripled imports, having purchased 3,800 tons, worth $9.2 million, in 2020.

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