K뷰티, 4년만에 수출 4배 성장..주요 수출국가는 중화권
Exports of South Korean cosmetics jumped last year.
This comes on the back of strong popularity of these products abroad, with China being the main market.
According to our Yoon Jung-min the future looks bright for K-Beauty.
South Korean cosmetics exports have been seeing steady growth over the past few years.
According to local trading promotion agency KOTRA on Monday, K-beauty exports quadrupled in four years to reach 4-point-96 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.
Cosmetics exports look strong this year too.
Total exports for the January to September period reached 4-point-6 billion dollars, up 31-point-4 percent on-year.
Greater China was the main market for Korean cosmetics with some 3-point-26 billion dollars of Korean beauty products exported to the region last year, up 12-point-5 percent from the previous year.
Southeast Asia was the second largest importer, with some 530 million dollars of K-beauty imports, followed by North America and Europe.
Shipments to all four regions saw double-digit increases.
KOTRA says the number of cosmetics manufacturers jumped from less than 2-and-a-half-thousand in 2012 to more than 11-thousand last year on the back of increasing popularity of K-beauty.
The agency added it expects the cosmetics industry to add new momentum to the domestic economy, creating more new jobs and opportunities.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.
