Impact of Low Fertility and Aging...Children's diapers reduced by 10% and adults increased by 5%
Jul 31, 2025
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The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced on the 31st that the 2024 'Sanitary Products Market Size' was estimated to be KRW 2.8716 trillion. Sanitary products refer to products that come into direct or indirect contact with the human body, such as cleaning agents, sanitary towels, toilet paper, disposable towels, and paper napkins.
The sanitary products market has been growing steadily (about 4.66% annual average growth rate) from 2019 to 2024, increasing from KRW 2.3 trillion in 2019 to KRW 2.7362 trillion in 2022 and KRW 2.8716 trillion in 2024.
The domestic production of sanitary products in 2024 was ▲ 944.7 billion won (41.0%) ▲ Disposable cups 294.4 billion won (12.8%), ▲ Disposable diapers 294.1 billion won (12.8%), ▲ Cleaning agents 269.8 billion won (11.7%), ▲ Disposable towels 249.2 billion won (10.8%), and the five items accounted for about 89% of the total production.
By item, the supply (53,286 tons) of children's diapers (including sanitary rugs) decreased by about 10.3% in 2024 compared to the previous year (59,436 tons) due to the decrease in the infant and toddler population due to low birth rate.
On the other hand, supply of adult diapers (including sanitary rugs) in 2024 was 57,806 tons, up about 4.8% from 2023 (55,174 tons). It is analyzed that this trend is the effect of gradually increasing the proportion of the population aged 65 or older as the super-aged society enters.
The production of disposable wipes (including dry tissues for wet tissues) used as substitutes for sanitary towels in food service businesses such as restaurants totaled 56.5 billion won in 2024, up about 5.8% from the previous year (53.4 billion won).
On the other hand, the production amount of sanitary towel that is reused after treatment and packaging by hygienic methods such as cleaning, sterilization, and disinfection was 8.4 billion won, down 15.2% from 2023, and the number of sanitary towel treatment companies is also decreasing every year. It seems to be due to the increased tendency to prefer wet wipes that can be easily used for disposable use rather than reusable wet towels.
The supply of disposable cups and straws has decreased.
Supplies of disposable cups and straws in 2024 were 149,951 and 9,140 tonnes, respectively, down about 3.0% and 12.8% compared with 2023. It seems to be due to the recent change in public perception of environmental issues, reducing the use of disposable products and increasing the number of consumers using multi-use cups.
Last year, production of disposable chopsticks and disposable toothpicks also fell 28.5% and 14.3%, respectively. On the other hand, the production amount of cleaning agents such as fruits and vegetables (269.8 billion won) increased by 15.2% year-on-year, the highest growth rate among the top items in production.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
