According to statistics released by
Japan's Ministry of Finance,
Japan's steel
plate exports totaled 271,545 metric tons in July this year, decreasing by 6.23 percent month on month and up 2.93 percent compared to July 2009.
In the month in question, South Korea decreased its steel
plate imports from
Japan by 7.79 percent month on month to 133,490 metric tons, while a rise of 7.74 percent was registered compared to July 2009. In the given month, China imported 72,325 metric tons of steel
plate from the same source, up 6.92 percent month on month and down 3.03 percent year on year.
Japan's steel
plate exports to these two countries accounted for approximately 70 percent of its total
plate exports.
Meanwhile, in the January-July period of 2010,
Japan's steel
plate exports amounted to 1.99 million metric tons, rising by 18.02 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the first seven months of this year, Japanese steel
plate exports to South Korea totaled 1.01 million metric tons, surging by 9.26 percent, while exports to China came to 424,565 metric tons, rising by 8.29 percent, both compared to the same period last year.