In July this year, South Korea exported 2,685,000 mt of steel products and imported 2,938,000 mt, recording net steel product imports of 253,000 mt, according to data issued by the Korea Iron and Steel Association (KOSA). On year-on-year basis, in July South Korea's exports of steel products increased by four percent, while its imports decreased by 3.2 percent, both year on year.
In July, South Korea imported 1,126,000 mt of steel products from Japan, up 20.9 percent year on year, while South Korea's net steel product imports in trade with Japan totaled 250,000 mt in the given month. In contrast, South Korea's imports of steel products from China in July decreased by 0.3 percent year on year to 963,000 mt.
Meanwhile, South Korea's aggregate net imports of steel products in the January-July period this year totaled 1,897,000 mt.