S. Korea Posts 3.6% Rise in Cosmetics Exports, its Slowest Rise in 8 Years

South Korea exported US$6.49 billion worth of cosmetics last year, up 3.6 percent from overseas shipments in 2018, but down sharply from a near 27 percent surge in 2018.

The 3.6 percent increase was the industry's slowest recorded pace since the 2.9 percent hike in 2011.

Exports to Japan climbed by 32.7 percent to $401.6 million as shipments to China increased 14.3 percent to $3.04 billion.

However, exports to Hong Kong plummeted 30.1 percent to $919.4 million, and those to the US slid 2.4 percent to $525.3 million.

The weaker growth was attributed to US-China trade tensions, UK's separation from the European Union, as well as the slowing global economy.

Korean cosmetics exports had robust on account of Korean pop culture's popularity, soaring over 50 percent in 2014 and 2015 before slowing to 18.3 percent in 2017.

Nonetheless, last year's cosmetics exports far outshone South Korea's overall shipments overseas, which sank 10.3 percent on-year to $542.3 billion.