Japan's scrap exports plunge by 43.2% in February: MoF

01 Apr 2014 Last updated at 02:49:06 GMT

TOKYO (Scrap Monster): The scrap exports by Japan during the month of February fell sharply, as per the latest data released by the country’s Ministry of Finance. According to MoF data, the country’s scrap exports totaled 475,000 tons during the month. The exports have dropped by 43.2% when compared with the exports during the same month a year ago. Upon comparison with the previous month, Feb ’14 exports remained more or less flat, rising marginally by 2.8%.

South Korea was the largest importer of Japanese scrap during February this year. The Japanese scrap imports to South Korea totaled 292,000 tons during the month, accounting for over 60% of the total scrap exports by Japan during the month.

The cumulative scrap exports by Japan during the initial two-month period of the year totaled 937,000 tons. This is 40.4% down when compared with the exports during the corresponding two-month period in 2012.

The largest importer of Japanese scrap during Jan-Feb period was South Korea. The scrap imports by South Korea totaled 623,000 tons, constituting nearly 67% of the total scrap exports by Japan. The other major importers of Japanese scrap along with their share of total exports by Japan are as follows: China (280,000 tons, 29.88% of total Japanese exports) and Vietnam (24,000 tons, 2.56%).

Author: Paul Ploumis