According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's ferrous scrap exports totaled 559,185 metric tons in January this year, falling by 12.1 percent month on month and up 32 percent compared to January 2011.
Meanwhile, in 2011 Japan's scrap exports amounted to 5.45 million metric tons, declining by 15.6 percent year on year. After the earthquake which hit Japan on March 11, month-on-month decreases were recorded in the country's scrap exports in April and May, and again in September and November.
In the first month of 2012, Japanese scrap exports to South Korea totaled 356,100 metric tons, increasing by 54 percent year on year and up 21.6 percent compared to the previous month, while exports to China amounted to 181,632 metric tons, down 3.3 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and down 39 percent month on month.