Japan's iron and steel product exports up 1.8 percent in Q1

In March this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.86 million metric tons, up 17.6 percent month on month and rising by 0.25 percent year on year, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 642,640 metric tons, with a month-on-month growth of 2.1 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 27.8 percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JISF).
 
In the first three months, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 10.6 million mt, rising by 1.8 percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 2.02 million mt, decreasing by 21.4 percent, both compared to the same period of 2014.
 
Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the first three months this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 1.74 million mt, down 7.44 percent, while exports to China decreased by 12 percent to 1.3 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 905,462 metric tons, up 11.5 percent, exports to Thailand totaled 1.35 million metric tons, down 2.04 percent, while exports to the US totaled 590,657 metric tons, declining by five percent, all year on year.
 
In the January-March period, Japan imported 754,302 metric tons of iron and steel products from South Korea, down 19.2 percent, it imported 97,312 metric tons from China, down 34.6 percent, while imports from Taiwan rose to 234,576 metric tons, falling by 14.6 percent, all compared to the first three months of 2014.