South Korea’s beauty trade surplus hit an all-time high last year, according to government data, bolstered by ongoing demand from China and other Asian countries.

Data showed outbound shipments of cosmetics reached 6.89 trillion won in 2018, an annual increase of 23.3 percent YOY, with imports growing 6.8 percent to 1.42 trillion won. The surplus 5.47 trillion won (US$4.56 billion) showcased a 28.4 percent increase from the recorded 4.26 trillion won surplus in 2017.

South Korea has achieved a favorable trade balance for the last four years, with China being the largest market for products from the country, hitting 2.92 trillion won. Hong Kong, the U.S. and Japan came out as the main destinations, with exports to emerging markets such as Indonesia and Kazakhstan growing rapidly in 2018 year on year.

AmorePacific came out on top as the leading export company, followed by LG Household & Healthcare and Aekyung Industry.