ASEAN secretary general Ong Keng Yong told reporters today that the system was on track and that the industry had been responding well to the demands laid down to enable its successful implementation.
Considering the current rate of progress the organization believes that it has reason to believe that the system will be fully implemented and up and running by 1 January, 2006.
"Member countries are making necessary preparations for the implementation of the agreement on ASEAN harmonized cosmetic regulatory scheme which was signed in September 2003," ASEAN said in an official statement.
ASEAN represents the ten member states of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Phillipines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam as a means of accelerating the region's economy through the development of trade, both within the region and worldwide.
According to the body, the region has a population of about 500 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product of US$737 billion, and a total trade of $ 720 billion.
In line with economic expansion in the region, the cosmetics industry has also developed rapidly, but ASEAN believes that the implementation of a harmonization cosmetics directive could help to further boost growth.
The mains objectives of the scheme are to increase co-operation between member states for the safety and quality of cosmetics products marketed in the region as well as eliminating restrictions to the trade of cosmetics products through the standardization of technical requirements.
The measures will mean that member states will have to adopt and implement documentation that appears in the current ASEAN Cosmetic Directive.
The hope is that eventually this move will help to attract more global players, who will eventually be able to tap into a large market that is easy to access in terms of mass marketed product lines.