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Russian ice cream makers expect 10-13% growth in ice cream sales this summer

sales in 2014 may increase by 3-5% on the year 2013

MOSCOW, May 27, /ITAR-TASS/. Ice cream sales in Russian may go up by 10 to 13% this summer on the summer of 2013 because of hot weather, Valery Yelkhov, the head of Russia’s Union of Ice Cream Makers, told ITAR-TASS on Tuesday.

In general, ice cream sales in 2014 may increase by three to five percent on the year 2013, he noted. “We hope this summer will be warmer than usual and ice cream will be in big demand,” he said, citing weather forecasts of Russian meteorological services.

According to Yelkhov, May’s spell of heat has already triggered sales growth at retail outlets. “January-April saw a minor growth of 0.5% on the last year. But in May as the season of active sales began, our positions have considerably improved,” he said.

Meanwhile, Agnessa Osipova, the directo general of the BRPI company, which promotes Baskin Robbins in Russia, said that sales in the entire sector in the first quarter of 2014 had been less than forecasted because of the cold winter. “The good thing is that there were no slumps and we expect to see a growth in sales from May till the end of October,” she noted.

According to the Russian Union of Ice Cream Makers, ice cream sales traditionally go up two-to three-fold in warmer seasons. In high demand are ice creams with low fat content, fruit ice and sherbet.

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