Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of beauty cosmetics and skincare products during 2020.

1. France: US$9 billion (14.8% of total beauty cosmetics and skincare exports)
2. Singapore: $6.2 billion (10.3%)
3. South Korea: $6.1 billion (10.1%)
4. Japan: $5.3 billion (8.7%)
5. United States: $5.1 billion (8.4%)
6. Hong Kong: $4.1 billion (6.7%)
7. Germany: $3.4 billion (5.5%)
8. China: $2.2 billion (3.6%)
9. United Kingdom: $24 billion (3.4%)
10. Poland: $1.95 billion (3.2%)
11. Italy: $1.8 billion (3%)
12. Switzerland: $1.6 billion (2.7%)
13. Belgium: $1.3 billion (2.2%)
14. Spain: $1.1 billion (1.8%)
15. Netherlands: $1.1 billion (1.8%)

By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 86.2% of global beauty cosmetics and skincare exports in 2020.

Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing beauty cosmetics and skincare exporters from 2019 to 2020 were: Hong Kong (up 31%), Japan (up 19.1%), Switzerland (up 16.6%) and South Korea (up 14.8%).

Those countries that posted declines in their exported beauty cosmetics and skincare sales were led by: China (down -21.5%), Italy (down -19.7%), United States (down -16.8%), Germany (down -12%) and France (down -10.3%).

The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for beauty cosmetics and skincare products during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported beauty cosmetics and skincare items and its import purchases for those same commodities.

1. France: US$7.2 billion (net export surplus down -9.2% since 2019)
2. South Korea: $5.2 billion (up 22%)
3. Japan: $3.9 billion (up 34.1%)
4. Singapore: $3.3 billion (up 9.4%)
5. Germany: $1.2 billion (down -3.2%)
6. Switzerland: $1.1 billion (up 19.1%)
7. Poland: $933.8 million (up 20.4%)
8. Italy: $823.8 million (down -25.6%)
9. United States: $593.5 million (down -39.9%)
10. Spain: $135 million (up 508.4%)
11. Israel: $125.5 million (up 0.5%)
12. South Africa: $115.6 million (up 197.2%)
13. Netherlands: $75.5 million (up 5%)
14. Senegal: $52.7 million (up 16.5%)
15. Belgium: $49.6 million (down -263.7%)

Historically a fashion mecca, France earns the highest surplus in the international trade of beauty cosmetics and skincare offerings. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms France’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.

The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for beauty cosmetics and skincare products during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s import purchases and its exports for these specialized personal care commodities.

1. China: US-$15.2 billion (net export deficit up 45% since 2019)
2. Hong Kong: -$3.2 billion (up 65.2%)
3. Macao, China: -$2.3 billion (up 179.9%)
4. Russia: -$761.5 million (down -27.2%)
5. Saudi Arabia: -$594.5 million (down -11.5%)
6. Taiwan: -$439.6 million (down -5.8%)
7. Vietnam: -$383.8 million (up 388.8%)
8. United Arab Emirates: -$379.1 million (reversing a $160.9 million surplus)
9. Canada: -$342.8 million (down -8.2%)
10. Australia: -$275.3 million (down -26.1%)
11. Norway: -$265.8 million (up 3.2%)
12. Malaysia: -$229.4 million (down -30.7%)
13. Austria: -$198.8 million (down -15%)
14. Romania: -$189.3 million (up 10.1%)
15. Portugal: -$182.1 million (down -24.2%)

Mainland China and its political territory incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of beauty cosmetics and skincare products. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights the Asian entities’ strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for supplying countries positioned to satisfy the powerful demand among Chinese consumers and businesses.

Beauty Cosmetics and Skincare Product Suppliers

Below are global conglomerates that represent established players engaged in the international trade of beauty cosmetics and skincare offerings. Each conglomerate’s home country is shown within parenthesis.

• Avon Products (United States)
• L’Oreal (France)
• Proctor & Gamble (United States)
• Shiseido (Japan)
• Unilever (United Kingdom)