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Beauty Business Malaysia 26-29 March 2018

Malaysia’s total trade volume for personal care and cosmetics products was about US$2.24 billion in 2015. Over 50% of this demand was met by US$1.13 billion in imports. In descending order, China, Thailand, France, EU28, the United States, South Korea and Japan are the main exporters to Malaysia. Skin-care products (including sunscreen and after sun care) command the biggest market share with a total import valued of US$292 million. This is followed by cosmetics and toilet preparations (including shaving, bath preparation and deodorants) with a value of US$109 million. Third highest import category for Malaysia are soaps and other skin-wash products, valued at US$104 million.

Connecting the Difference with ASEAN

Despite the concurrent appreciation of the U.S. dollars and the devaluation of Malaysia’s currency (Ringgit Malaysia) in 2015 and 2016, and slowdowns in government spending, exports to Malaysia have continued to grow over the past five years albeit at a slower rate. Imports of cosmetics and particularly U.S. products have been undeterred by the slowdown, with U.S. products imports increasing averagely by 25% over the past five years. As growth in the Malaysia’s economy picks up, cosmetics imports are expected to grow. Malaysia’s overall total trade for 2015 was US$376 billion. China is the top trading partner with 15.8% market share, followed by Singapore (13.0%), the European Union (10.1%), and the United States (8.8%). Malaysia imports 54% of its goods from East Asia, with the largest share from China. The advanced economies (the United States, EU, and Japan) accounted for 26% of imports.

Business Partners from South Korea and Taiwan

Taiwanese and South Korean brands are becoming more popular with the Malaysian manicure and pedicure market. In fact, Taiwan was the leading exporter to Malaysia and represented 27.44% of the Malaysian manicure or pedicure market. This was followed by South Korea with 14.5%, and the U.S. was ranked third with 13.92%. Unfortunately for the United States, the percentage of change for 2015/2014 is -31.06%, while Taiwan has an increase of 267.99%, and South Korea with 18.04%.

60% of the Malaysian population is Muslim

Securing the assistance of an agent or distributor is necessary for market entry into Malaysia. Notification with the Malaysian Drug Control Authority for most cosmetics and toiletries products is the next step, and must be done by a Malaysian company/agent/distributor. Once, the product is notified for importation, the appropriate distribution channels are usually determined by the product target market. Further, as over 60% of the Malaysian population is Muslim, companies that intend to sell to the Muslim consumers should be aware of the local Malaysian Halal requirement. It would be advantageous to have exports Halal certified by the Malaysian entity JAKIM. Halal is defined as what is permissible under the Islamic Sharia Law.

Created By
William Frazier
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