TOKYO: According to trade statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MoF), the country’s ferrous scrap imports jumped higher significantly during the month of January this year.
However, the monthly imports declined when matched with the previous month. The ferrous scrap imports by Japan totaled 24,777 tons during the month, surging higher by 102% when compared with the imports during the same month a year before. Japan had imported only 12,246 tons of ferrous scrap during January 2016.
The largest exporter of ferrous scrap to Japan during January this year was Hong Kong. The exports from Hong Kong totaled 10,516 tons, rising significantly over the exports of 234 tons during the same month a year before. The exports from Hong Kong accounted for 42.4% of the total ferrous scrap imports by Japan during the month.
The second largest source of ferrous scrap imports by Japan was South Korea. The imports from the country accounted for 30.8% share of imports, totaling at 7,635 tons. The imports from South Korea were up by nearly 20% year-on-year. In third place was Taiwan with 3,942 tons. Accounting for nearly 16% share of Japanese ferrous scrap imports, the volumes were up considerably by 141.2%. The other key exporters of ferrous scrap to Japan during the month were the USA (1,237 tons), Thailand (242 tons), Philippines (203 tons), China (165 tons) and Singapore (158 tons).
Month-on-month, imports from Hong Kong skyrocketed from 39 tons in Dec ’16. The imports from South Korea too were up by nearly 22%. Meantime, the imports from Taiwan more than doubled when compared with the month before. On the other hand, import volumes from the US reduced drastically.
The scrap imports from Thailand, Philippines, China and Singapore too witnessed month-on-month decline during January this year.
