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10 Jun 2005

Industry

Cosmetics, 2005: Bright Prospects, Bt10 Billion Surplus Likely

คะแนนเฉลี่ย

Over the first four months of this year, Thailand's exports of cosmetics totaled Bt7.269 billion. These include beauty products, hair preparations, i.e., shampoo, hair oils, hair coloring, hair straightening products, hair wave products, etc., plus oral and dental hygienic products, body care toiletries for shaving, bath, deodorants, and others, as well as essential oils, resinoids and perfumes. Among Thailand's key markets are Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Meanwhile, Thailand's imports of these products totaled Bt3.207 billion. The main sources of supply for cosmetic products include the US, France, Japan and the United Kingdom, accounting for at least 60 percent of Thailand's total imports of this product category. As a result, Thailand posted a trade surplus of Bt4.061 billion during the aforementioned period. In fact, Thailand has recorded a trade surplus in cosmetics since 2001. Thai cosmetics have exhibited trade surpluses of Bt7.238 billion and Bt11.125 billion in 2001 and 2004, respectively. Kasikorn Research Center (KRC) forecasts that, at the end of this year, Thailand's cosmetics will continue to be in surplus by around Bt10-13 billion, based on our assumption that exports and imports throughout this year grow in a range of 15-20 percent and 12-15 percent, respectively.

Items in the cosmetics group that have helped Thailand earn its trade surplus in the first 4 months of 2005 are much the same as those that have been performing well over the past 4-5 years. They include hair preparations (with a surplus of Bt4.013billion), oral and dental hygiene products (with a surplus of Bt373.5 million) and body care toiletries (with a surplus of Bt540.7 million). Meanwhile, it was also found that cosmetic products that Thailand has posted a trade deficit in during the period were beauty products (with a deficit of Bt516.9 million) and essential oils, resinoids and perfumes (with a deficit of Bt349 million). Thailand has suffered a trade deficit on these two items for a long time, because items in these categories depend on brand image and recognition, and are well known products from the US and Europe, ensuring confidence in them with domestic consumers who consume a significant amount of such imported merchandise. During the period, it was found that, overall, Thai cosmetics posted trade deficits with the US, France and the UK totaling Bt621.3 million, Bt677.8 million and Bt128.1 million, respectively. Meanwhile, trade partners with which Thai cosmetics have earned a trade surplus include ASEAN (a surplus earned of Bt3,371.7 million), Japan (surplus of Bt716.3 million), Australia (surplus of Bt365.4 million), India (surplus of Bt320.6 million) and South Korea (surplus of Bt279.7 million). So, it is highly possible that Asian market will be the number one market for Thai cosmetics becoming steadily more important. However, Thai entrepreneurs will have to increase exports of Thai cosmetics to this market steadily, as well as maintain and seriously develop their products to achieve international standards. Of course, it will also depend on whether the economies of these trade partners deteriorate much or not.

Trade Balance on Thai Cosmetic Products
Category
2001
2002
2003
2004
Jan-Apr2004
Jan-Apr2005
-Overall cosmetics 7,238.0 8,017.8 9,653.3 11,125.6 3,102.2 4,061.9
-Beauty products -161.4 -523.8-534.1 -963.0 -585.0-516.9
-Hair preparations 5,510.8 6,829.8 8,140.0 9,846.0 2,919.4 4,013.5
- Oral and dental hygiene products 1,424.2 1,135.7 1,330.6 1,485.7 433.5 373.5
- Body care toiletries 881.3 655.5775.8 1,503.8 556.4 540.7
- Essential oils, resinoids, perfumes -416.8 -79.3-57.0 -746.9 -222.2-349.0

Source: The Customs Department; Compiled by: Sectoral Economics Dept., KRC


Industry

Cosmetics