According to the provisional data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, in the first half of 2010, Japan's steel exports came to 28.85 million metric tons, rising by 60.8 percent, while these exports generated a value of JPY 1.82 trillion ($20.89 billion), up 34.4 percent, both compared to the corresponding period of 2009.
Meanwhile, in the first half of this year, Japanese steel imports increased 88.7 percent as compared to the first six months of 2009, amounting to 3.38 million metric tons and totaled a value of JPY 353.86 billion ($4.06 billion), up 44 percent year on year.
In the given period, Japan's iron and steel product exports to the US increased by 23.2 percent to 666,000 metric tons, its exports to the EU rose by 61.3 percent to 223,000 metric tons, while iron and steel exports to China increased by 35.8 percent to 3.78 million metric tons, exports to the Middle East went up by 84.2 percent to 757,000 metric tons, and iron and steel exports to the ASEAN countries rose by 113.8 percent to 5.61 million metric tons, all compared to the first half of 2009.