Japan's iron and steel product exports up 4.1 percent in January-April

In April this year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 3.6 million metric tons, down 6.5 percent month on month and rising by 11.4 percent year on year, while Japan's iron and steel product imports totaled 654,760 metric tons, with a month-on-month growth of 1.9 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 17.6 percent, according to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (JISF).
 
In the first four months, Japanese iron and steel product exports amounted to 14.2 million mt, rising by 4.1 percent, while Japanese iron and steel product imports came to 2.67 million mt, decreasing by 20.5 percent, both compared to the same period of 2014.
 
Regarding Japan's major iron and steel product export markets, in the first four months this year the country's iron and steel exports to South Korea totaled 2.3 million mt, down 8.5 percent, while exports to China decreased by 8.9 percent to 1.8 million mt, the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 1.16 million metric tons, up 6.2 percent, exports to Thailand totaled 1.73 million metric tons, down 5.7 percent, while exports to the US totaled 786,458 metric tons, rising 3.8 percent, all year on year.
 
In the January-April 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 amounted to 234,576 metric tons, falling by 14.6 percent, all compared to the first four months of 2014.