Japan's iron and steel product exports down 8.2% in January-May

In May this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.53 million metric tons, increasing by 8.9 percent month on month, but down four percent year on year, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 738,996 metric tons, with a month-on-month decrease of seven percent and a year-on-year increase of 19.9 percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JISF).
 
In the first five months of the current year, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 17.16 million mt, decreasing by 8.2 percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 4.10 million mt, increasing by 38.3 percent, both compared to the January-May period of 2013.
 
Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the first five months of this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 3.04 million mt, down 8.2 percent, while exports to China decreased by 0.7 percent to 2.49 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 1.44 million metric tons, down 16 percent, exports to Thailand totaled 2.33 million metric tons, down three percent, while exports to the US came to 968,127 metric tons, increasing by 1.1 percent, all compared to the same period of 2013.
 
In the January-May period of the current year, Japan imported 1.90 million metric tons of iron and steel products from South Korea, up 33.4 percent, it imported 901,100 metric tons from China, up 82.1 percent, while imports from Taiwan rose to 511,215 metric tons, increasing by 21.1 percent, all compared to the same period of 2013.