The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) confirmed that K-beauty exports surpassed the USD10bn milestone for the first time in 2024.
“I deeply appreciate the industry’s efforts in achieving a record-high export value of USD10 billion, despite the increasingly stringent global regulations on cosmetics,” said Oh Yu-kyoung, MFDS Commissioner.
According to the report, 2024 cosmetic exports increased by 20.6% year on year to USD10.2bn from USD8.46bn in 2023.
The previous record was set in 2021 went exports reached USD9.2bn.
China remained the largest importer of South Korean cosmetics with total export value of USD2.5bn, accounting for 24.5% of total exports.
However, MFDS noted that China’s share has continued to decrease since 2021, dropping to the 20% range for the first time.
Exports to China decreased across most product categories, with the largest decline seen in basic skin care products, which fell by 11% from USD2.16 billion to USD1.92bn.
However, colour cosmetics reported a slight increase of 5.7%, from USD300m USD320m.
Conversely, exports to the US increased by 57.0% to USD1.9 bn.
Growth was seen across “nearly all categories”, said MFDS, with basic skin care leading exports with a rise of 66.8% to USD1.4bn.
Colour cosmetics followed, rising by 25.8% to USD260m. Personal care products more than doubled (122.2%) to USD90m.
Exports to Japan also experienced significant growth, increasing by $230 million (+29.2%), marking the first time exports to Japan exceeded a billion dollars.
Other key K-beauty export markets included Hong Kong, Vietnam, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Singapore in that order.
The increase in UAE exports increased from USD90m to USD170m, making it one of the 10 largest export destinations for the first time.
By category, basic skin care led total exports at USD7.67bn, increasing 20% from 2023.
Colour cosmetics followed at USD1.35bn, increasing 29%.
However, personal cleansing products recorded the largest increase of 30.7% to USD470m.
The MFDS assured that it would continue to support the K-beauty industry in 2025 through policies and the continued promotion of export diversification.
“In 2025, the ministry will continue to support our industry by strengthening international cooperation through regulatory diplomacy and assisting companies in enhancing their global quality competitiveness, particularly in response to safety evaluations in key markets like China and the United States,” said Oh.
