São Paulo – Ice cream sales in the Middle East and Africa totalled US$ 2.4 billion last year, representing growth of 8% over 2008, according to data supplied by consultancy firm Euromonitor. Despite the high inflation rates in the region, the sales volume of the product grew by 4% using the same basis of comparison.
The growing demand for ice cream in the region has withstood the economic crisis due to two feactors, according to the survey. Firstly, more expensive ice cream continued being purchased by an elite of consumers who were not seriously affected by the crisis. Another factor is that the demand for lower cost ice cream depends mainly on weather conditions and demographic growth, and is not linked to slight variations in income.
From 2009 to 2014, Euromonitor forecasts that the sales volume for ice cream in the region should grow by 20%, mostly due to the heat, demographic growth and new packages containing more units. In spite of the rising demand, the survey shows that per capita consumption of the product in the region should remain low up until 2014 (0.5 kg) compared with consumption in Western Europe, for instance, which is 6 kg.
Last year, Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia accounted for 50% of total ice cream sales in the Middle East and Africa. in the Arab country, for instance, the sales volume increased by 5% in 2009 compared with the previous year. The survey reveals that several factors have contributed, such as high temperatures throughout the year, demographic boom, low cost of ice cream and TV advertisement of new products.
According to the survey, sales of multipack ice cream grew by 33% in Saudi Arabia, even though the consumer base is small in the segment. Products of the Unilever brand, such as Extreme and Magnum, are among the most sold in this packaging category, as well as Igloo, Snickers, Mars and Galaxy.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
