According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, the country's ferrous scrap exports totaled 694,049 metric tons in April this year, climbing by 42.44 percent month on month and down 34.98 percent compared to April 2009.
In the month in question, China increased its ferrous scrap imports from Japan by 24.94 percent month on month to 261,990 metric tons, while a drop of 50.44 percent was registered compared to April 2009. South Korea imported 405,888 metric tons from the same source, up 55.68 percent month on month and down 4.95 percent year on year.
In the given month, scrap exports to China accounted for 37.75 percent of Japan's total scrap exports, while exports to South Korea constituted 58.48 percent of total scrap exports.
Meanwhile, in the first four months of 2010, Japan's scrap exports amounted to 2.64 million metric tons, declining by 23.28 percent year on year. In the January-April period, scrap exports to China totaled 961,951 metric tons, while exports to South Korea amounted to 1.57 million metric tons, decreasing by 56.01 percent and up 48.86 percent respectively, both compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.