According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's hot rolled (HR) flat steel exports totaled 1.17 million metric tons in June this year, decreasing by 6.4 percent month on month and up 7.2 percent compared to June 2011.
Meanwhile, in the first half of 2012 Japan's hot rolled flat steel exports amounted to 6.7 million metric tons, rising by 2.8 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
In the first six months of this year, Japanese hot rolled flat steel exports to South Korea totaled 2 million metric tons, falling by 16.5 percent, exports to Thailand came to 909,105 metric tons, rising 15.6 percent, while China's hot rolled steel imports from Japan decreased by 11.5 percent to 693,455 metric tons, all compared to January-June 2011.