TOKYO: According to latest statistics released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MoF), the country’s imports of stainless steel scrap increased during the month of April this year.
The imports during the month jumped by nearly 25.4% when compared with the previous month. The stainless steel scrap imports by Japan totaled 8,018 tons in April. Japan had imported 6,395 tons of stainless steel scrap during the month of March this year.
During the month of March, the largest exporter stainless steel scrap to Japan was South Korea. The exports from South Korea totaled 4,702 tons. The Japanese imports from South Korea increased nearly 12.14% when compared with the imports of 4,193 tons during Mar ‘15. In second place was the US with total exports of 1,486 tons. The stainless steel scrap exports from the US to Japan surged significantly higher by 44.27% month-on-month from 1,030 tons. The imports from South Korea and the US accounted for 59% and 19% respectively of the total imports by the country during April.
Meanwhile, the average price of imported stainless steel scrap witnessed marginal decline of 0.7% over the previous month. The prices of stainless steel scrap imports during the month averaged at ￥186,448/ton. The country’s stainless steel scrap exports during the initial four-month period of the year totaled 30,268 tons.
According to government data, Japanese stainless steel products import dropped 3.9% in April to 14,509 tons when compared with imports of 15,103 tons during the previous month.
