According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's ferroalloy imports totaled 133,290 metric tons in May this year, decreasing by 4.75 percent compared to the previous month, following a month-on-month increase of 5.3 percent recorded in April, and were down 0.2 percent compared to May 2012.
In the first five months of the year, Japan's ferroalloy imports amounted to 640,145 mt, decreasing by two percent compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the first five months of the current year, Japan's ferroalloy imports from Kazakhstan increased to 133,995 metric tons, up 5.8 percent year on year, while South Africa's ferroalloy exports to Japan in January-May this year fell to 100,102 mt, down 25.3 percent year on year.