According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's ferroalloy imports totaled 139,933 metric tons in April this year, increasing by 5.3 percent compared to the previous month, following a month-on-month increase of 30.3 percent recorded in March, and were down 1.75 percent compared to April 2012.
In the first four months of the year, Japan's ferroalloy imports amounted to 506,855 mt, decreasing by 2.5 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the first four months of the current year, Japan's ferroalloy imports from Kazakhstan increased to 108,923 metric tons, up six percent year on year, while China exported 90,704 mt of ferroalloys to Japan in the first four months, increasing by 1.2 percent compared to the corresponding period of 2012. Meanwhile, South Africa's ferroalloy exports to Japan in January-April this year fell to 87,965 mt, down 23.8 percent year on year.