JAKARTA (Scrap Monster): The most recent data released by the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS), the country's steel import value dropped significantly during the month of May this year. A similar drop was seen in the import values generated by articles of iron and steel.

According to BPS data, Indonesia's steel import value totaled $681 million during May '14. This is 12.63% lower when compared with the steel import values during the same month a year ago. The country's steel import values during May 2013 had totaled $780 million.

The steel import values during the initial five months of the year plunged significantly over the previous year. The cumulative steel import value during the period from January to May this year totaled $3.54 billion, down 23.64% when compared with the import value during the corresponding five-month period last year.

A drop of 11.61% was witnessed in the iron and steel articles import value during the month of May this year. The import value generated by articles of iron and steel totaled $324 million during the month.

The import values generated by iron and steel articles dropped considerably during the first five months of the year. The cumulative import value totaled $1.74 billion, 22.08% lower when compared with the import value during Jan-May the previous year.