Korean cosmetics make great strides in North American and European markets… Exports reach $8.5 billion, up 6.4% year-on-year

Last year, South Korean cosmetics, known as "K-beauty," achieved exports of $8.5 billion, up 6.4% from the previous year, the second-highest figure on record after 2021's $9.2 billion.
Exports to China fell by more than 20%, but North American and European markets recorded notable increases of around 50%.
On the 20th, the Korea Food and Drug Administration announced the "2023 Domestic Cosmetics Production and Import Plan," which includes these achievements.
The report also announced "Export Performance." In terms of exports by country last year, China's exports were about $2.8 billion, the highest record in the past five years, but there was a 23.1% decrease compared to 2022.
On the other hand, exports to the North American market reached $1.3 billion, and exports to the European market reached $1.1 billion, up 44% and 49.7%, respectively, from the previous year.
In particular, exports to the United States last year increased 44.7% year-on-year to $1.2 billion, exceeding $1 billion for the first time.
Furthermore, Korean products overtook Chinese products to rank fifth in the US cosmetics import market. Cosmetics exports are expanding to more diverse regions, including the Middle East and Oceania. Last year,
Exports to the Middle East increased 39.9% year-on-year, Oceania increased 39.2%, and Latin America increased 28.7%. The favorable trend in cosmetics exports has continued into this year, with exports in the first quarter (January to March) increasing 1.2%.
The total sales of Korean cosmetics manufacturers increased 21.7% year-on-year to $2.3 billion, the largest quarterly figure ever.
The top five companies in terms of cosmetics production last year were LG Household & Health Care (3.4954 trillion won, up 2.0% from the previous year), AmorePacific (3.234 trillion won,
7.3% decrease), Aekyung Industries (318 billion won, 17.8% increase), Atomy (176.6 billion won, 0.8% decrease), and Clio (160.2 billion won, 36.2% increase).
The number of companies with sales of over 100 million won was 773, while the number of companies with sales of less than 1 billion won was 11,088. Meanwhile, last year's cosmetics imports were 1.3 billion won, down 1.5% from the previous year.
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