By the end of the year, the €500 million barrier could be overcome by Greek cosmetics exports, with the markets of Cyprus, the UK and France becoming important destinations for receiving more Greek-inspired beauty products over the next five years. According to his preliminary data ELSTATwhich were processed by Enterprise Greece on behalf of the Panhellenic Association of Manufacturers and Agents of Perfumes and Cosmetics, cosmetics exports in the nine months (January – September 2022) reached 493.2 million euros out of 389.6 million euros. corresponds to last year, which means an increase of 27% this year.

The export ‘race’, as can be seen from the data, is led by perfumes and cosmetics (perfumes and colognes, color cosmetics, hair care and cosmetics), with total exports of this category amounting to 278.7 million euros, which means an increase of almost by 20% compared to the 9th month of 2021. This is followed by the category of soaps and cleaning products, whose exports reached 202 million euros (+40.83%), while the export of fragrances decreased. and essential oils (-9.45%), while they reached 12.5 million euros from 13.8 million euros in the nine months of 2021. It is noted that, according to the latest ELSTAT data, the total volume of Greek exports for the 9th month (January-September) amounted to 40.5 billion euros, an increase of 41.1%. Of course, while exports are at new record highs, they cannot under any circumstances exceed imports, causing the trade deficit to widen by 62.3% to €27.3 billion over the period. Meanwhile, the increase in the value of all Greek exports is associated both with unrestricted economic activity due to the lifting of restrictive measures introduced during the pandemic, and with an increase in the selling price of exported products. For beauty products, PSVAK said they were not among the top growth categories, but argued that promotions and discounts companies are offering on products will not be able to offset price increases.

They will exceed 500 million. Perfumes and cosmetics are leading the race.

According to PSVAK’s export potential map of Greece, the markets of Cyprus, the UK, France and Italy could be the biggest contributors to export growth in the coming years. He estimates that Greece’s exports could reach $571 million over a five-year horizon due to increased exports to the above markets. Today, the export of cosmetics and perfumes in Cyprus is $49 million, with the possibility of increasing it to $52 million, while exports to the Italian market can be doubled in the next period, reaching $30 million.