According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, the country's ferrous scrap exports totaled 453,612 metric tons in November last year, increasing by 30.08 percent year on year, but down 10.05 percent over October.
In November 2009, Japan's principal ferrous scrap export markets did not change, with 229,682 metric tons of scrap exports going to China - up 22.22 percent over October but down 15.66 percent compared to November 2008. Meanwhile, 192,217 metric tons of ferrous scrap went to South Korea - down 35.92 percent month on month, and down 29.42 percent year on year. Ferrous scrap exports to China accounted for 50.63 percent of Japan's total ferrous scrap exports, while exports to South Korea constituted 42.38 percent of the total figure.
On the other hand, in the January-November period Japan exported 8.76 million metric tons of ferrous scrap, up 76.84 percent year on year. In the period in question, China increased its ferrous scrap imports from Japan by 106 percent to 4.67 million metric tons, while South Korea imported 3.5 million metric tons from the same source, up 50.26 percent, both compared to the corresponding period of 2008.