New trade czar wants to catalyze PH beauty industry
Acting Trade Secretary Cristine Roque seeks to develop the Philippines’ multibillion-peso beauty industry, vowing to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in this sector under her watch.
“We have to realize that a lot of the MSMEs are also into the beauty business, especially now the beauty business is very strong,” Roque tells reporters during the opening of the five-day beauty fair of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) at SM Megamall.
Roque says that they aim to conduct targeted trade fairs going forward that would feature companies engaged in the beauty business.
“By doing this, we also create avenues for MSMEs, for the business people to be able to showcase their products to a lot of mall goers,” says Roque.
She adds that the local beauty industry is growing, particularly in the digital space, which has helped the sector expand output to billions of pesos.
The DTI’s first-ever beauty fair was attended by over 40 brands in skin care, body care and cosmetics.
Back in 2022, the head of the Chamber of Cosmetics Industry of the Philippines, Inc. (CCIPI) estimated that their industry alone was worth around $4 billion annually.
CCIPI president Jocelyn Babaan had told the Inquirer then that the industry has been showing signs of recovery, after the pandemic had cut an estimated 50 percent to as much as 80 percent of the sector’s gross revenues.
Before the pandemic, or in 2018 and 2019, the industry had been growing by around 30 percent to 40 percent.
Cited were significant changes in the behavior of consumers during the pandemic, when people stayed at home longer, costing the beauty industry a substantial portion of their sales.
