Japan is threatening to overtake South Korea’s No. 1 status in China’s imported cosmetics market this year, industry data showed Dec. 12, mainly on the back of the growing popularity of low- to mid-priced products.

Japanese companies accounted for 25.2 percent of China’s imported cosmetics in the January-October period, closing the gap between Korean rivals, whose combined market share was 25.5 percent, according to industry tracker IHS Global Trade Atlas.

France came in third, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total imported beauty market, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom, it said.

France had maintained the No. 1 status in the Chinese import cosmetics market until 2015, with a market shares of 28.6 percent.

Korea overtook France in 2016 and has maintained the status for three years.

China’s imports of foreign cosmetics products in the first 10 months of this year rose 31.7 percent on-year to $9.67 billion, the industry tracker said. The amount is expected to surpass the $10 billion mark by the end of this year.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)