According to statistics released by
Japan's Ministry of Finance,
Japan's hot rolled (HR) flat steel exports totaled 1.24 million metric tons in May this year, increasing by 22 percent month on month and up 29 percent compared to May 2011.
Meanwhile, in the first five months of 2012
Japan's hot rolled flat steel exports amounted to 5.5 million metric tons, rising by two percent as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
In the first five months of this year, Japanese hot rolled flat steel exports to South Korea totaled 1.67 million metric tons, falling by 18.9 percent, exports to
Thailand came to 752,315 metric tons, rising 12.5 percent, while
China's hot rolled steel imports from
Japan decreased by 10.4 percent to 579,705 metric tons, all compared to January-May 2011.