UAE exports grew 67%, and halal is not mandatory
Halal certification sits at the top of almost every Gulf entry plan. The UAE does not require it by law — it only applies once a product claims to be halal. Korean cosmetics exports to the UAE reached US$286 million in 2025, up 67.2% in a single year.
Halal certification is not legally required in the UAE; it becomes necessary only when a product claims to be halal. Korean cosmetics exports to the UAE hit US$286 million in 2025, up 67.2% from US$171 million, moving the country to Korea's eighth-largest destination. The real gate is not halal but per-country registration and Arabic labelling.
The fastest-growing region on the export sheet
Korean cosmetics exports reached US$11.4 billion in 2025, up 12.2% year on year, and Korea passed the United States to rank second worldwide behind France. The sharpest growth in that total did not come from America or Europe.
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety figures put 2025 exports to the United Arab Emirates at US$286 million, up 67.2% from US$171 million a year earlier. That moves the UAE to Korea's eighth-largest cosmetics destination, from twelfth in 2023. Saudi Arabia grew 34.1% and Kuwait 55.5% over the same stretch.
| Country | 2025 exports | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | US$286m | +67.2% |
| Saudi Arabia | — | +34.1% |
| Kuwait | — | +55.5% |
| Israel | — | +109.8% |
| Türkiye | — | +30.9% |
Taken as a bloc, the 57 OIC member states imported US$1.226 billion of Korean cosmetics in 2025 by the Korea Halal Industry Institute's count, up 33.3% from US$919.45 million in 2024. Their share of Korea's cosmetics exports moved from 9.0% to 10.7%, and the Middle East accounts for 45.7% of that bloc.
Halal is a choice, not a clearance
Almost every Gulf entry plan opens with halal certification. Under UAE rules, though, halal certification is not legally mandated — it applies only when a product claims to be halal.
That distinction changes both budget and timeline. You can register and sell without it. Claim halal on the label, however, and you owe documentation on the origin of every raw material, which means re-papering ingredients like glycerin or stearic acid where plant and animal sources both exist.
So halal is less a door to pass through than a question of which shelf you want. A halal aisle in a regional chain, or a line aimed squarely at Muslim consumers, pays for the certificate. If you are targeting Dubai travel retail and department-store beauty halls, selling first without it is the more practical route.
One ingredient standard, six registration regimes
The six Gulf states share GSO 1943:2024 for ingredient safety, GSO 2528:2024 for claims and labelling, and GSO 2020:2010 for GMP. The first two took effect on 1 May 2024. At that level the GCC looks like a single market.
Registration is where it splits. The UAE routes you through a Certificate of Conformity issued by MoIAT under ECAS, after which the product is registered with the municipality of the emirate where it will be sold; Dubai uses the Montaji system and registration lasts five years. Saudi Arabia will not let a product be imported or traded until it is notified in the SFDA's eCosma.
| United Arab Emirates | Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| First gate | MoIAT conformity certificate (ECAS) | SFDA GHAD account + licensed warehouse |
| Product registration | Municipality of the selling emirate (Dubai = Montaji) | eCosma notification |
| Validity | 5 years | Renew 90 days before expiry |
| Ingredient submission | INCI | INCI with concentrations (%) |
| Label language | Not specified in the regulation | Arabic + English |
| Halal | Not mandatory | Not mandatory |
The concentration column is the one that trips Korean brands. Where a manufacturer treats its formulation percentages as a trade secret, that single document can hold registration up for weeks. Asking at the quotation stage whether the lab will release a percentage-level ingredient list for eCosma saves that round trip later.
The Arabic label is your document, not the importer's
Saudi Arabia requires labels in Arabic and English together, with batch number, expiry date, importer information, warnings and a barcode. Miss one and the notification bounces.
Brands often assume the local importer handles this. When the translation is wrong, though, the liability lands back on the brand, and claim wording is the risky part. GSO 2528:2024 prohibits exaggerated or false claims, and Saudi Arabia penalises medicinal ones. Lifting words like "regenerating" or "firming" straight from a Korean label will catch you at least once.
Product choice shifts too. The hot, dry climate favours hydration, soothing and sun care, which is where Korean formulation depth already sits. In Amazon UAE's beauty category a Korean relief cream ranks first and a Korean sunscreen second. You can see which ingredients are moving right now on today's ingredient signal and work a direction into a quotable spec in the product planner.
One new variable in 2026
There is a reason not to read the growth curve on its own. Regional instability through early 2026 pushed freight rates up and delivery schedules back.
Olive Young has notified customers of shipping delays to Bahrain, Qatar, Israel, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Safety stock held with local distributors and logistics hubs is absorbing most of it for now, but first-order volumes and lead times deserve more slack than a normal year would need.
Takeaways
- Halal certification is not legally required in the UAE; it binds only when the product claims halal.
- UAE exports reached US$286 million in 2025, up 67.2%, lifting the country from twelfth to eighth among destinations.
- GSO 1943:2024 is shared across the Gulf, but registration is handled country by country and emirate by emirate.
- Saudi eCosma asks for concentrations alongside the INCI list — confirm with your manufacturer before you file.
- Labels need Arabic and English, and claim wording has to be rewritten against GSO 2528:2024.
*Sources: 2025 export figures — THE K BEAUTY SCIENCE (MFDS data) / country growth rates — Expression Cosmétique, Cosmorning (Korea Halal Industry Institute) / UAE registration and halal status — ChemLinked UAE Cosmetic Regulation / Saudi SFDA and eCosma — Artixio / shipping delays — news report. Accessed 9 October 2026.*
Questions people ask
Not by law. Certification becomes mandatory the moment the label or advertising claims halal status. So the decision is a shelf-placement question, not a regulatory one.
The UAE took US$286 million of Korean cosmetics in 2025, ranking eighth among all destinations, up from twelfth in 2023. Saudi Arabia grew 34.1% and Kuwait 55.5% over the same period.
Ingredient safety runs on one shared standard, GSO 1943:2024, but registration does not. The UAE needs a MoIAT conformity certificate first, then municipal registration in the emirate where you sell, with Dubai using the Montaji system. Saudi Arabia requires an eCosma notification before import or trade.
A notarised authorisation letter from the manufacturer, front and back label images, the full ingredient list with concentrations, and a Product Information File with testing and GMP evidence. Customs clearance adds a Certificate of Conformity issued through Fasah.
Saudi Arabia requires Arabic alongside English. Batch number, expiry, importer details and a barcode must all appear or the notification comes back. Treat the Arabic translation as the brand's document, not the importer's.