Japan's iron and steel product exports down 8.5 percent in Q1

In March this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.87 million metric tons, decreasing by five percent year on year and increasing by 20.3 percent compared to the previous month, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 891,305 metric tons, with a month-on-month increase of 17.3 percent and a year-on-year increase of 55.3 percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance.
 
In the first quarter of the current year, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 10.39 million mt, decreasing by 8.5 percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 2.57 million mt, increasing by 49.3 percent, both compared to the January-March period of 2013.
 
Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the first quarter this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 1.88 million mt, down 6.4 percent, while exports to China increased by five percent to 1.48 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 812,592 metric tons, down 27 percent, exports to Thailand totaled 1.39 million metric tons, down 2.9 percent, while exports to the US came to 621,955 metric tons, increasing by six percent, all compared to the same period of 2013.
 
In the January-March period of the current year, Japan imported 1.20 million metric tons of iron and steel products from South Korea, up 40.7 percent, it imported 560,608 metric tons from China, up 100.7 percent, while imports from Taiwan rose to 320,006 metric tons, increasing by 40.2 percent, all compared to the same period of 2013.