Japan’s steel exports stable in Jan-Sept

According to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's iron and steel product exports in September this year amounted to 3.65 million metric tons, increasing by eight percent compared to the same month of 2011 and down by 3.1 percent month on month, while Japan's steel imports totaled 634,732 metric tons, with a month-on-month decrease of 4.3 percent and a year-on-year increase of 8.5 percent. In September, Japanese steel product exports recorded its fifth consecutive month of increase on year-on-year basis.

In the first three quarters of the year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 31.7 million mt, almost stable, while the country's iron and steel product imports decreased slightly by 0.5 percent to 5.9 million mt, both compared to the first nine months of the previous year. In the first half of the year, Japanese steel exports has decreased four percent year on year.

Regarding Japan's major steel export markets, in September the country's steel exports to South Korea totaled 696,644 mt, down 0.3 percent, while steel exports to China decreased by 5.3 percent to 499,013 metric tons; the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 301,109 metric tons, up 1.3 percent; exports to Thailand totaled 523,404 metric tons, up seven percent; while exports to the US increased to 258,099 metric tons, up by 38.6 percent, all compared to the previous month.

In September, Japan imported 334,623 metric tons of steel from South Korea, up 11.5 percent, it imported 109,403 metric tons from China, down by 2.8 percent, while imports from Taiwan rose to 84,314 metric tons, increasing by 3.6 percent, all compared to the previous month.