According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, the country's ferrous scrap exports totaled 656,560 metric tons in September, increasing by 40.05 percent year on year, but down 10.08 percent over August.
In September this year, Japan's principal ferrous scrap export markets did not change, with 340,785 metric tons of scrap exports going to South Korea - up 1.88 percent over August and up 31.63 percent year on year, and 303,690 metric tons going to China - down 13.44 percent month on month, but up 59.61 percent year on year. Ferrous scrap exports to South Korea accounted for 52 percent of Japan's total ferrous scrap exports, while exports to China constituted 46 percent of the total figure.
On the other hand, in the January-September period Japan exported 7.79 million metric tons of ferrous scrap, up 79.57 percent year on year. In the period in question, China increased its ferrous scrap imports from Japan by 132.98 percent to 4.25 million metric tons, while South Korea imported 3.01 million metric tons, up 37.59 percent, both compared to the corresponding period of 2008.