According to the provisional data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, in February this year Japan exported 3.39 million metric tons of iron and steel products, up 81.2 percent compared to February 2009. The revenue generated by these exports amounted to JPY 178.71 billion ($1.94 billion), increasing by 79 percent year on year.
The country's iron and steel product imports in the month in question totaled 407,496 metric tons, rising by 47.1 percent, while these imports amounted to a value of JPY 43.21 billion ($469.97 million), up 4.5 percent, both compared to the corresponding month of 2009.
In the given month, Japan increased its iron and steel product exports to the US by 83.3 percent to 119,000 metric tons, to China by 50.2 percent to 572,000 metric tons, to the Middle East by 133.9 percent to 128,000 metric tons, to the EU by 173.9 percent to 54,000 metric tons while it iron and steel exports to the ASEAN countries rose by 127.4 percent to 836,000 metric tons, all compared to February 2009.