Japan’s steel exports up four percent in H1

According to the customs statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's iron and steel product exports in June this year amounted to 3.6 million metric tons, increasing by 3.1 percent compared to the same month of 2011 and down by 10 percent month on month, while Japan's steel imports totaled 643,500 metric tons, with a month-on-month decrease of 6.4 percent and a year-on-year decrease of 12.6 percent.
 
In the first half of the current year, Japan's total steel exports amounted to 20.78 million mt, decreasing by four percent compared to the first half of 2011, while the country's steel imports totaled 3.9 million mt in the period in question, falling by two percent year on year.

Regarding Japan's major steel export markets, in June the country's steel exports to South Korea totaled 707,476 mt, down 6.6 percent, while steel exports to China decreased by 16.1 percent to 498,012 metric tons; the export volume to Taiwan amounted to 324,406 metric tons, down 4.1 percent; exports to Thailand totaled 432,816 metric tons, down 9.25 percent; while exports to the US came to 228,977 metric tons, increasing by 4.4 percent, all compared to the previous month.

In June, Japan imported 243,308 metric tons of steel from South Korea, down 8.5 percent, it imported 26,977 metric tons from China, down by 37.3 percent, while imports from Taiwan fell to 70,551 metric tons, decreasing by 13.8 percent, all compared to the previous month.