The DG also noted that the products used in spa and beauty businesses were particularly popular, and that Thailand is well known for producing excellent spa and cosmetic products thanks to the country’s wealth of ingredients and traditional knowledge of herbs.
In 2012, the UAE imported US$37.4 million in Thai cosmetics and hygienic products.
In an interview with WorldFolio in June, Ms Rastapana said that she wanted to encourage small-scale production of cosmetics and other products in villages.
She said: "There are lots of people producing OTOP (one village one product) products and we can help them in terms of providing knowledge to improve their products."
Ms Rastapan also stated that she believes the Thai herbal and cosmetics market has great potential for continued growth.
Cosmetics exports
Last year, market research organization Mintel suggested that Thai cosmetics and cosmetic ingredients were also building up a strong following in the West.
Asian ingredients and products such as BB creams are becoming increasingly popular in Europe, with Britain third place in global product development for Holy Basil, a traditional herb.
Mintel predicted that the Thai beauty market would continue to increase in size and would reach $4.8 billion by 2015.
Mintel’s Vivienne Rudd, director of Insight, Beauty and Personal Care, said: “We believe that 2015 could be a watershed moment for the Thai beauty market. It is poised to become a more powerful, competitive market. Thai ingredients are already building a following in the West”
Thai beauty market
Euromonitor data from 2012 shows that the domestic Thai cosmetics products market has also increased in size over the past few years, particularly in the areas of men’s grooming, colour cosmetics and fragrances.
The industry overviewed showed that consumers were becoming increasingly sophisticated, and that a large variety of products had been launched to meet growing demand.
The report also suggested that international brands continued to lead the way both in market share and in innovation, although local manufacturers were becoming increasingly aggressive.