"K-Beauty Boom" Drives Record $3.1 Billion in Cosmetics Exports in Q1

Cosmetics Exports to the US Surge by 40% While Shipments to China Decline, Says Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

In the first quarter, South Korea's cosmetics exports surged by approximately 500 million dollars compared to the same period last year, once again reaching an all-time record high.

According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on April 6, cosmetics exports from January to March this year were provisionally tallied at 3.1 billion dollars, up 19.0% from the same period last year. This marks another record high for a first quarter, following 1.8 billion dollars in 2022, 1.9 billion dollars in 2023, 2.3 billion dollars in 2024, and 2.6 billion dollars last year.

While export figures for January and February showed little change year-on-year, the ministry explained that exports in March alone jumped by 29.3% to 1.19 billion dollars, setting a new quarterly record.

By country, exports to the United States reached 620 million dollars in the first quarter, accounting for 19.8% of total exports. This represents a sharp increase of 40.9% year-on-year, indicating that domestic cosmetics remain popular despite changes in tariffs and other trade environments, driven by the ongoing Korean content boom.

Exports to China decreased by 9.6% year-on-year to 470 million dollars, while exports to Japan increased by 7.4% to 290 million dollars. By product type, basic cosmetics led with 2.43 billion dollars, followed by color cosmetics at 330 million dollars and personal cleansing products at 160 million dollars.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is actively pursuing regulatory diplomacy with major countries to support the global popularity of "K-beauty" and facilitate the expansion of Korean cosmetics into world markets. In September this year, the ministry plans to host the Global Cosmetics Regulatory Authorities Summit (GCORAS), expanding the previous Asia-focused "One Asia Beauty Forum" to include the Middle East and Latin America, with the aim of leading global regulatory innovation for Korean cosmetics and strengthening strategic relationships with key countries.

In addition, following the signing of a regulatory cooperation memorandum of understanding with Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) during the Korea-Brazil summit in February, a regulatory cooperation working group will be established on April 8 to explore ongoing collaboration between the two agencies. The ministry also plans to strengthen cooperation with the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China to ensure that Korean companies can enter the Chinese market without difficulty.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety stated, "We will continue to provide various policy supports to ensure that excellent Korean cosmetics can expand even more actively into global markets."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.