Japan’s steel exports up 12.9 percent in Q1

According to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's iron and steel product exports in March this year amounted to 4.1 million metric tons, increasing by 4.7 percent compared to the same month of 2012 and up by 12.2 percent month on month, while Japan's steel imports amounted to 573,755 metric tons, with a month-on-month decrease of 13.3 percent and a year-on-year increase of 11 percent.

In the first quarter of the year, Japan's iron and steel product exports amounted to 11.4 million mt, up 12.9 percent, while the country's iron and steel product imports decreased by 12.4 percent to 1.7 million mt, both compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, in the first quarter of the year Japan imported 32.4 million mt of iron ore, increasing by 2.8 percent, and 366,922 mt of ferroalloys, down 2.8 percent, both compared to the same quarter of 2012.

Regarding Japan's major steel export markets, in the first quarter the country's steel exports to South Korea totaled 2 million mt, down 4.6 percent, while steel exports to China decreased by 5.8 percent to 1.4 million metric tons; the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 1.1 million metric tons, up 42.5 percent; exports to Thailand totaled 1.4 million metric tons, up 29.3 percent; while exports to the US came to 586,770 metric tons, decreasing by 11.8 percent, all compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In January-March, Japan imported 850,239 metric tons of steel from South Korea, down 11.2 percent, it imported 279,292 metric tons from China, down by 21.4 percent, while imports from Taiwan came to 228,189 metric tons, decreasing by 11.6 percent, all year on year.