Hong Kong Korean Cosmetics Imports: Statistics 2019–2025
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Bottom line: Hong Kong Korean cosmetics imports statistics show USD 841 million of HS 3304 imports from Korea in 2025, 21.6% of Hong Kong’s total, making Korea the largest source; the same year 64.8% of Hong Kong’s HS 3304 exports went to mainland China and 19.0% to Macao.
The figures below use HS 3304 (beauty, make-up and skincare preparations) data reported to UN Comtrade by Hong Kong and by Korea, to show the size of the trade and where the goods go next.
Hong Kong Korean cosmetics imports statistics, 2019–2025
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| Year | Hong Kong-reported imports from Korea (USD, CIF) | Korea-reported exports to Hong Kong (USD, FOB) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 915,263,420 | 789,276,160 |
| 2020 | 3,220,528,880 | 614,044,721 |
| 2021 | 3,342,487,185 | 489,939,677 |
| 2022 | 3,148,618,928 | 338,856,794 |
| 2023 | 2,244,712,226 | 438,189,768 |
| 2024 | 955,751,032 | 511,134,539 |
| 2025 | 840,748,608 | 595,332,547 |
Swipe sideways to see the whole table.
| Hong Kong HS 3304, 2025 | Top five | USD million and share |
|---|---|---|
| Import sources (total 3,888.6) | Korea, Singapore, mainland China, Japan, Switzerland | 840.7 (21.6%), 816.0 (21.0%), 481.6 (12.4%), 397.5 (10.2%), 372.2 (9.6%) |
| Export destinations (total 3,296.1) | Mainland China, Macao, Japan, USA, Taiwan | 2,137.2 (64.8%), 625.3 (19.0%), 97.7 (3.0%), 95.5 (2.9%), 58.4 (1.8%) |
HS 3304 trade · Hong Kong and Korea, 2019–2025 · Source: UN Comtrade · ACCESSED 2026-10-16 · USD million
Definitions, sources and access date
- Scope: UN Comtrade, HS 3304, annual. The first column is reporter Hong Kong (code 344), partner Korea (code 410), imports at CIF value; the second is reporter Korea, partner Hong Kong, exports at FOB value. Dollar values are rounded to whole dollars.
- Second table: reporter Hong Kong, 2025 HS 3304 imports and exports by partner. Exports cover goods of all origins, not only Korean goods; UN Comtrade does not carry Hong Kong re-exports by origin, so this article cannot show where Korean-origin goods were re-exported. Taiwan is recorded as “Other Asia, nes”. Shares are partner values divided by the world total.
- Why the two columns differ: UN international merchandise trade statistics guidance recommends attributing imports to the country of origin and exports to the country of last known destination. Combined with the CIF/FOB difference, the two sides’ figures can diverge widely. This article reports the 2020–2023 gap without guessing at its causes.
- Sources: UN Comtrade https://comtradeplus.un.org/ (API queries: https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=344&period=2025&cmdCode=3304&flowCode=M&partnerCode=410 and https://comtradeapi.un.org/public/v1/preview/C/A/HS?reporterCode=410&period=2025&cmdCode=3304&flowCode=X&partnerCode=344 ) · UN Statistics Division, “Partner country”: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/trade/EG-IMTS/Web%20documents/Papers%20and%20presentations/UNSD%20-%20Item%2011%20-%20Partner%20country.pdf (PDF)
- Data accessed: 16 October 2026
How to read the numbers
Korea is still first, but the lead has narrowed. Korea’s share of Hong Kong’s HS 3304 imports fell from 23.7% (USD 956 million) in 2024 to 21.6% in 2025, just 0.6 percentage points ahead of Singapore (21.0%).
From Korea’s side, three years of growth. Korea-reported exports to Hong Kong rose from USD 339 million in 2022 to USD 595 million in 2025, up 76% in three years.
Hong Kong works largely as a re-export point. Hong Kong’s 2025 HS 3304 exports of USD 3.30 billion equal 85% of its imports of USD 3.89 billion, and 83.8% of those exports went to mainland China and Macao.
For an importer in Hong Kong, the data says two things. Korean products are the biggest single group in Hong Kong’s cosmetics imports, so competition in them is also the stiffest.
And a large share of what arrives leaves again, so declarations, labels and origin documents should be prepared with re-export in mind from the start. SEONGWOO GLOBAL supplies Hong Kong buyers from Korea; export orders are contracted and invoiced by our Seoul company.
Related reading: Re-export via Hong Kong · How to import cosmetics into Hong Kong · Hong Kong cosmetics retail sales · Korean cosmetics exports by country
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