The production of frozen fruits stood at 799K tons in 2017, falling by 5% over the last year, according to "EU: Frozen Fruits - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025," published by IndexBox, Walnut, Calif. This was preceded by a period of strong growth from 2015-2016, following a 5-year stretch of a relatively stable trend pattern. The reduced production figures recorded over the past year can be explained by the falling volume of production in two key producer countries – namely Poland and Italy.
Poland was the largest producer of frozen fruit in the EU, supplying 45% of total production (359,000 tons). Italy assumed second position, with a 22% share (173,000 tons), followed by Spain (35,000 tons), the Netherlands (34,000 tons), Belgium (31,000 tons), Hungary (27,000 tons), Germany (23,000 tons), Sweden (22,000 tons), Greece (19,000 tons) and France (19,000 tons). From 2007-2017, the most pronounced paces of growth in terms of production were observed in Spain (+14.6%) and Hungary (+13.4%), while thе major producer—Poland—saw a modest growth of +1.9% per year.
Approximately 46% of the EU frozen fruit market is buoyed by imported products from abroad. The share of imported products in consumption fluctuated over the past decade, but always remained at a figure of at least 41%, thereby indicating the substantial extent of foreign products on the market. Serbia, Morocco, China, Canada, Ukraine, Egypt and Turkey constitute the main foreign suppliers to the EU market.
The export volume totaled 864,000 tons in 2017, an increase of 2% against the previous year. The volume of frozen fruit exports has increased slowly since 2010, with slight fluctuations being observed in certain years.
In 2017, the value of exports totaled €1.4B, increasing over the last two years.
As of 2017, Poland indicated the largest export volume, with 339,000 tons, comprising 39% of total EU imports, followed by the Netherlands (13%), Belgium (10%), Spain (8%), Germany (6%), Italy (3%) and Greece (3%). Exports from Poland increased at an average rate of +2.2% per year from 2007-2017. However, the highest annual growth rates were observed in Spain (+5.0%) and the Netherlands (+4.6%).
The volume of EU imports totaled 1.3 million tons in 2017, an increase of 6% against the previous year. In value terms, it equated to €2.2M. The volume of frozen fruit imports maintained a trend pattern, which echoed that of the volume of exports—these trade flows complement each other on a global scale.
As of 2017, Germany indicated the largest import volume, with 404,000 tons, which also accounted for 30% of total EU imports, followed by France, which occupied another 13% share, the Netherlands (11%), Belgium (9%), the UK (7%), Poland (7%) and Italy (4%).
Frozen fruit imports into Germany increased at an average annual rate of +2.5% from 2007-2017. At the same time, Poland emerged as the fastest growing importer in the EU, with a CAGR of +10% from 2007-2017. The other countries also displayed positive, but moderate paces of growth.
