South Korea's exports of cosmetics grew nearly 15 percent in 2020 from a year earlier despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data by the Korea Customs Service on Sunday, the country's outbound shipments of cosmetics came to six-point-12 billion U.S. dollars last year, up 14-point-eight percent from a year earlier.

In the first quarter of the year, exports of cosmetics also jumped 32-point-four percent on-year to one-point-88 billion dollars.

The country's trade balance for cosmetics turned into a surplus in 2013, which grew to over five billion dollars last year.

South Korea's imports of cosmetics fell ten-point-seven percent on-year in 2020 to one-point-08 billion dollars.