Japan’s exports of steel in all grades and forms declined by 4% on year to about 2.7 million tonnes for April, or having been down on year for the 12th consecutive month, according to the preliminary data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance on May 20, mainly as the domestic steel producers have been prioritizing domestic customers instead of exporting with limited supplies, market sources shared.
The April volume was also down 13.3% on month, but it was of little concern, as March is usually a high export month for the Japanese mills when they rush to deliver all the orders in the last month of a fiscal year, Mysteel Global understands.
Last month, Asia remained the top destination for Japan’s steel exports, accounting for about 78% of total exports or about 2.11 million tonnes in volume, which was 0.8% lower on year and down 12% on month, according to the official data.
Among the Asian destinations, exports to the ASEAN-6 countries and China rose on year while exports to South Korea fell, mainly as “steel prices in the ASEAN countries and China had been much higher and more attractive than South Korea” a steel trader in Tokyo explained.
Japan’s Apr Steel Exports by Country/Region (selected)
| Country/region | Volume (000 tonnes) | M-o-M | Y-o-Y |
| ASEAN | 928 | -17.3% | +4% |
| China | 470 | +2.4% | +31.4% |
| South Korea | 358 | -5.5% | -21.3% |
Source: Ministry of Finance, preliminary trade data
In April, Japan’s imports of all kinds of steel rose 8.1% on year, or for the third consecutive month, totalling 684,031 tonnes, and it was 0.5% higher on month too, with South Korea being the top supplier at 290,995 tonnes, which was up 4.1% on year but down 14.1% on month.
China ranked the second largest steel supplier to Japan with 125,451 tonnes in April, which grew 11.9% on year and up 37.9% on month, as the Chinese sellers had been in a rush to fulfil the deliveries before the cancellation of the export tax rebates on a number of steel products on May 1, a second Tokyo-based trader said.
Besides, “flat steel supplies from the Japanese mills were tight last month, and China’s deliveries had been welcomed,” he added.
The Japan Iron & Steel Federation will release the country’s detailed steel exports and imports data by product on May 31.
Written by Yoko Manabe, yoko.manabe@mysteel.com
This article has been published under an article exchange agreement between Mysteel Global and SteelMint.
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