Market evolution: Refrigerated display cabinets (CN 841850) — 2015–2025

Introduction

This report analyses the trade dynamics of refrigerated display cabinets (Combined Nomenclature code 841850) for the European Union with non-EU partners between 2015 and 2025. The product category encompasses commercial furniture like refrigerated show-cases, display counters, and cabinets used for storage and display, excluding standard household refrigerators and freezers. Over the decade, the EU market experienced a fundamental transformation, characterized by a dramatic surge in imports, a consolidation of supply sources, and a sharp erosion of the traditional trade surplus. These shifts reflect evolving global supply chains, competitive pressures, and changing domestic production capabilities.

1. A Structural Shift from Net Exporter to Dependent Importer

The most striking trend over the period is the EU's transition from a strong net exporter to a position of growing import reliance. The trade balance, while remaining positive throughout, deteriorated significantly.

The EU's trade surplus in this product category contracted by over 52% between 2015 and 2025, falling from €547 million to €258 million. This occurred because import values grew much faster than export values.

Source: General Overview

This balance erosion is underpinned by divergent trends in volume and price. Export volumes actually declined by 12.5%, but this was offset by a 32.8% increase in the unit price of exports (EUR per tonne). Conversely, import volumes nearly doubled (+81.0%), with prices also rising but more moderately (+24.0%). This suggests the EU market's growth was increasingly supplied from abroad.

The shift is also visible in production data from the EU. Available figures indicate that EU production volume in this sector contracted by 27.1% between the available years, from 2.18 million tonnes to 1.59 million tonnes, suggesting a decline in domestic manufacturing capacity. Source: Market Structure - production volumes

2. The Surge and Consolidation of Imports

EU imports of refrigerated display cabinets underwent a period of explosive growth and structural concentration, becoming the defining feature of the decade.

Import value more than doubled, climbing from €348 million in 2015 to a peak of €874 million in 2024 before settling at €781 million in 2025. This growth was not uniform across suppliers.

Source: Top partners by value

China and Türkiye massively increased their market share, collectively accounting for the vast majority of the import increase. China alone represented 57% of total EU imports in 2025. The collapse of imports from Russia (down 98.6%) is likely linked to the sanctions regime following 2022. Meanwhile, Ukraine emerged as a significant, albeit smaller, supplier, with its imports growing over fivefold.

This consolidation is also reflected in the concentration of import sources. The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) for imports by value increased by 17.5%, indicating that the import market became more dominated by a few key suppliers. Source: Concentration HHI

Within the EU, Italy and the Netherlands were the largest importers by value in 2025, with Italy showing particularly strong growth (+187.3%). Source: Top reporters by value - imports

3. Resilient but Price-Sensitive EU Exports

Despite the growing import tide, the EU maintained a substantial export business, though its profile evolved towards higher-value goods.

EU export value grew moderately by 16.2% to €1.04 billion. However, this growth was entirely price-driven. Export volume (in tonnes) fell by 12.5% from 95,126 to 83,216 tonnes, while the average export price (EUR/t) rose sharply by 32.8%. This indicates a shift in the EU's export basket towards more sophisticated, higher-priced refrigerating furniture.

Source: Top reporters by value - exports

Italy was the unrivalled EU production and export hub, accounting for over 40% of total EU exports in 2025. Its specialization in this sector is confirmed by a high Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) score. Source: Specialisation Other major exporters include Austria, Germany, and Poland. The UK remained the EU's single largest extra-EU export destination, followed by Switzerland and the United States. Source: Top partners by value

Conclusion

The period 2015–2025 was transformative for the EU's refrigerated display cabinet market. The industry evolved from a position of net export strength to one of significant import dependency, primarily driven by massive and sustained inflows from China and Türkiye. This was accompanied by a decline in EU production volumes.

Despite these pressures, the EU export sector demonstrated resilience by pivoting towards higher-value products, as evidenced by rising export prices and stable or growing export values despite falling volumes. Italy solidified its role as the core of EU production and export capability.

The key dynamics are therefore: 1) a fundamental rebalancing of trade flows towards imports, 2) a rapid consolidation of supply risk towards a small number of non-EU partners, and 3) a strategic repositioning of EU exporters in the higher-end segment of the market. This creates a dual-structure market with concentrated, price-competitive import flows and specialized, higher-margin EU production for both domestic and export markets.