TOKYO: The ferrous scrap imports by Japan during the month of April this year dropped significantly, as per the latest statistics released by the country’s Ministry of Finance.
According to MoF data, the country’s scrap imports totaled 12,349 tons during the month. The imports were down by 6.4% when compared with the imports of 13,195 tons during the previous month. Also, the scrap imports during the month were 17.40% lower when compared with the same month a year ago.
South Korea was the largest exporter of scrap to Japan during April this year. The South Korean scrap exports to Japan totaled 8,112 tons during the month, accounting for nearly 65% of the total scrap imports by Japan during the month. In second place was the USA with scrap exports to Japan totaling 1,557 tons. The other main sources of ferrous scrap imports by Japan during Apr ’15 were Taiwan (811 tons, 6.57% share), Singapore (393 tons, 3.18% share) and Thailand (390 tons, 3.15% share).
The cumulative scrap imports by Japan during the initial four-month period of the year totaled 52,980 tons. The scrap imports by the country plunged by 78.6% when matched with the imports during corresponding four-month period in 2014. The Japanese ferrous scrap imports during January to April last year had totaled 247,690 tons.
The largest scrap exporter to Japan during Jan-Apr ’15 was the USA. The US scrap exports to Japan totaled 100,124 tons during the four-month period, accounting for 40.40% of the total scrap imports by Japan during this period. In second place was Hong Kong with scrap exports to Japan totaling 65,404 tons. The scrap imports from South Korea totaled 33,822 tons during this period.
The country’s total scrap imports for the entire year 2015 are estimated at 160,000 tons.
