SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s exports of lipsticks are projected to reach a new peak in 2023, the customs agency said Monday, due to the increasing demand as people are taking off their masks around the globe.
The prediction was made as exports of the products hit a record high of US$198 million during the January-July period, up 63.5 percent from the year before, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.
The agency stated that the rapid increase was due to consumers around the world returning to their pre-pandemic lifestyles, removing their masks while buying more cosmetic products.
Sales of inexpensive products, such as lipsticks, also have a tendency to increase during economic uncertainties, it added.
Over the seven-month period, the United States accounted for 42.2 percent of the exports, followed by Japan and China with 15.1 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.
As of July, South Korean lipsticks had been sold to 125 countries, slightly more than the previous year’s 122 nations, setting a new record, it added.
An advertisement of a lipstick product is displayed at a department store in Seoul, in this file photo taken March 20, 2023. (Yonhap)
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