K-Beauty Exports Soar to New Heights in Q3 2024

As revealed by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) on October 11, 2024, the export scale of K-beauty products hit a new record in the third quarter of this year.¹ The export value reached 7.4 billion USD in Q3 2024, marking a 19.3% increase compared to the same period last year (see Table 1).

(Table 1 Export Performance of Korean Cosmetics in Q3 from 2021 to 2024, sourced from Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute and Korea International Trade Association)

From regional perspective, China was the biggest importer of K-beauty products in Q3 2024 followed by the U.S., and Japan. Whilst, the U.S. showed the largest increase:

(Table 2 Performance of Top 3 Korean Cosmetic Importing Countries in Q3 2024, sourced from Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute and Korea International Trade Association)

In terms of product type, basic skincare product led the market with exports amounting to $5.56 billion. Secondly, color cosmetic reached 980 million USD, followed by personal cleansing products with 340 million USD.

(Table 3 Export Performance of Top 3 Korean Products in Q3 2024, sourced from Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute and Korea International Trade Association)

Looking at the detailed changes in export value of different categories to the Top 3 importing countries, the export of basic skincare products to China decreased by 18.3% from 1.66 billion USD to 1.36 billion USD. In contrast, the export of K-beauty in the U.S. experienced an overall increase across most categories, particularly in personal cleansing products, which surged from 20 million USD to 60 million USD. The export value in Japan also saw a growth. The increase in personal cleansing products amounted to 10 million USD, with a substantial growth of 106%.

According to MFDS, the export data of K-beauty products was published for enterprises’ reference to help them understand the current market status. The authority is also actively pursuing regulatory diplomacy with major export destinations such as the U.S. and China to facilitate the overseas expansion of Korean cosmetics. In addition, with the implementation of safety evaluation systems in the U.S. and China, MFDS is preparing to introduce safety evaluations domestically to enhance the international competitiveness of Korean cosmetics industry. Stay tuned on ChemLinked for more Korean cosmetic regulatory updates.