Brazilian beauty exports hit 10-year high despite U.S. drop

Brazilian exports of personal care, perfumery, and cosmetics hit $633.6 million in the first seven months of the year, up 8.4% compared to the same period in 2025. The performance marks the strongest seven-month stretch in at least a decade, according to data from the Brazilian Personal Care, Perfumery and Cosmetics Association (Abihpec).

“Outlook points toward 2026 being another milestone year for personal care and beauty exports,” said Luiz Carlos Dutra, president of Abihpec. “In 2025, the industry topped $1 billion in overseas sales for the first time, and that positive momentum has carried into 2026.”

Dutra emphasizes that export growth reflects a structural push by Brazilian manufacturers to expand their global footprint across diverse markets. “Latin America remains our primary export destination, but we are actively advancing expansion efforts into North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa,” he added, noting the trade association works alongside ApexBrasil, the country’s trade and investment promotion agency.

Regional trade

Within South America, Argentina ranked as the top buyer of Brazilian personal care goods, accounting for 22.4% of total export revenue. Shipments to Argentina jumped 22.8% year-over-year to $141.7 million through July. Colombia followed as the second-largest market, importing $66.1 million worth of goods, up 23.5%.

By contrast, shipments to the United States—Brazil’s 10th-largest destination and a market facing several tariff offensives against Brazilian goods—plunged 54.6% through July to $18.9 million.

The sharp decline follows robust growth in 2024 and 2025, when U.S.-bound exports rose 16.2% and 36.4%, respectively. Since a 19.8% expansion in 2020, U.S. sales had dropped only in 2021 (-0.3%) and 2023 (-4.8%), both far milder contractions than the current slump.

Because the U.S. accounted for just 3% of total industry exports this year, the contraction failed to derail overall top-line expansion through July.

“The U.S. remains a key destination, but we saw a broad pullback across that specific market,” Dutra said when addressing the decline.

Import growth

On the inbound trade side, Brazil imported $654.1 million in beauty and personal care products through July, up 8.5% year-over-year.

China stood as the primary origin for Brazilian imports, generating 24.3% of total inbound value at $158.8 million—a 32.4% increase over the previous year. France ranked second, supplying $116.9 million in products, down 1.7% from 2025 levels.

Source: Valor International

Sharing is caring!