Malaysia exported USD 585.88 million of cosmetics, toiletries and perfumery in 2025 — up 11.0% from USD 527.60 million in 2024.
The fastest-growing line is the one that matters most to a beauty brand: beauty, make-up and skin care preparations (HS 3304) reached USD 207.08 million, up 19.5% — a second consecutive year of double-digit growth after +16.9% in 2024.
| HS code | Category | 2025 exports (USD) | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3304 | Beauty, make-up & skin care | 207.08 million | 35.3% |
| 3302 | Odoriferous mixtures (B2B fragrance bases) | 137.87 million | 23.5% |
| 3307 | Shaving, deodorant, bath | 70.28 million | 12.0% |
| 3305 | Hair preparations | 61.37 million | 10.5% |
| 3306 | Oral & dental hygiene | 58.86 million | 10.0% |
| 3303 | Perfumes & toilet waters | 40.93 million | 7.0% |
| 3301 | Essential oils | 9.48 million | 1.6% |
Why this figure is hard to find
Because no Malaysian agency publishes it. A full-text scan of MATRADE's 2025 trade release for cosmetic, toiletr and personal care returns zero matches. MATRADE's "chemicals and chemical products" line is HS 28–38 and dominated by petrochemicals — it is not a cosmetics figure, though it is often quoted as if it were.
The numbers above come from UN Comtrade, which is Malaysia's own reporting to the UN, organised by HS code. Anyone can re-run them.
Where it goes
For skincare (HS 3304) in 2025: Singapore USD 88.48 million (42.7%), Hong Kong 13.69 million, Indonesia 13.53 million, Japan 10.82 million, the Philippines 10.59 million.
Treat the Singapore number carefully. Much of it is entrepôt — goods passing through Singapore's port on the way somewhere else. It is a customs artefact, not Singaporean consumer demand.
How many products are actually notified
NPRA's cosmetic register gives a second measure: 121,788 cosmetic products were notified during 2025. NPRA's Annual Report 2025, published on 11 August 2026, reports 132,105 applications received in the same year — the gap between applications and successful notifications is plausible.
Note that the register is live, not cumulative. Malaysian notifications are valid for two years, so older records drop off. The 2025 figure is a clean full-year count; it will decay through 2027.
The global context
Global halal cosmetics spending was worth USD 92 billion in 2024, projected to reach USD 124 billion by 2029 (DinarStandard). Note the base year is 2024, not 2025 — that report runs a year behind.
What does not exist, and what to ignore
- No official domestic market size. Every figure in circulation originates with a commercial research firm.
- No halal cosmetics export figure. HDC's RM68.52 billion halal export total does not break it out.
- 🚩 Avoid the "Malaysia beauty market USD 52.3 billion" and "Malaysia skincare market USD 78.6 billion" figures circulating in search results. Malaysia's GDP is roughly USD 450 billion; the second would make skincare 17% of the national economy. They are almost certainly mislabelled global figures.
Sources and vintage
Figures on this page are as published by the bodies below, and are dated in the text where the vintage matters. Trade statistics are revised: 2025 figures from MATRADE and KPKM are provisional and will be restated. Where a figure is a forecast or a commercial estimate rather than an actual, we say so on the line itself.