Japan’s iron and steel exports dropped to 3.155mn mt in March, down by 9.6pc from the prior year, but improved by 16.5pc compared to February, according to data released by Japan Iron and Steel Federation. Exports of ordinary steel dipped to 2.022mn mt, down by 13.3pc from a year ago, while up by 17.9pc from the prior month.
Iron and steel exports declined for the 11th consecutive month in year over year comparison but the data indicates a slow recovery with Q1 CY2021 (January to March) exports rising by 10pc to 8.328mn mt compared to the prior Q1.
In March among finished steel exports, volumes of hot-rolled wide strip fell by 17pc from the prior year to 967,659mt, while up by around the same per cent compared to February. Exports of medium plates rose by 5.9pc from the prior year to 2,467mt, while heavy plates exports dropped by 8.9pc to 257,699mt.
Japan’s iron and steel exports to China rose to 469,000mt in March, up by 12.7pc from the prior year. Exports to Thailand increased to 527,000mt, up by 17.7pc from the prior year and exports to Taiwan rose to 248,000mt, up by 3.3pc. In March, exports to South Korea fell by 31.2pc from the prior year to 379,000mt and exports to the US declined by 22.3pc to 82,000mt.
Imports
Japan imported 6,82,412mt of iron and steel in March, which is up by 8.7pc from the prior year. Leading exporters of ordinary steel to Japan were South Korea with exports of 264,569mt, followed by Taiwan with 65,316mt and China with 29,746mt exports.