According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's ferrous scrap exports totaled 735,949 metric tons in January this year, falling by 17.5 percent month on month and up 31.6 percent compared to January 2012.
In the whole of 2012, the country's scrap exports had amounted to 8.6 million mt, increasing 58 percent over the previous year, following the 15.6 percent year on year decline in 2011 caused by the impact of the earthquake which hit Japan on March 11 of the same year.
In January this year, Japanese scrap exports to South Korea totaled 444,930 metric tons, while exports to China amounted to 238,322 metric tons, increasing by 24.95 percent and up 31.2 percent respectively, both compared to the same month of the previous year.