China has become the world's eighth largest and Asia's second largest market for cosmetics, according to the China Association of Fragrance Flavor and Cosmetics Industry.

The United States is still the world's largest market, followed by Japan.

Last year, cosmetics worth 46 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion) were sold in the world's most populous market, according to the association.

"However, considering China's huge population, the market is far less tapped compared with Japan and other European countries," said association Chairman Zhang Dianyi.

"The China market has been growing by about 25 percent every year over the past ten years and the trend is going to continue," Zhang said.

Currently, more than 3,000 companies are selling 2.5 trillion varieties of cosmetics goods in China, he added.

The growth is partly pushed by the growing number of beauty salons around the country.

From July to September, the number of newly opened beauty salons rose 17.9 percent from last year.

Currently, China has more than 1.5 million beauty salons with 112 million professionals. About 87 percent are privately owned.

The figures were revealed prior to the opening of the 2003 China (Shanghai) International Beauty & Cosmetics Expo in the city yesterday.

(Shanghai Daily November 7, 2003)