Русский
China resumed imports of Russian ice cream in October after a break in September, according to China’s General Administration of Customs. China purchased ice cream valued at US$16,700, which was the lowest monthly figure for 2025. The largest amount of exports of Russian ice cream to the Chinese market this year occurred in March, at US$950,900, indicating that the market is highly seasonal.
China purchased ice cream from Russia worth US$2.2 million in 10M 2025 compared to US$2.6 million for the same period in 2024, showing a decline.
China imported ice cream from 35 countries in January-October, with Russia in seventh place, behind France, the United States, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and South Korea.
Interestingly, China’s first commercially available ice cream was developed in the 1950s on old imported Soviet-era ‘Polar Ice Cream’ machinery, making the simple cone and vanilla-cream-flavored product. It is still popular in China today, but Russian exporters also need to compete to regenerate sales volumes. That could come in the form of commercial tie-ins such as joint movie-film productions the two countries are working on.
Further Reading
A Sweet Tooth For Russian Sweets: Russian Confectionery Exports Up 8%
