Japan’s Oct’21 steel exports, as per provisional data from the Ministry of Finance, increased 11.5% y-o-y to 2.75 million tonnes (mn t). Although this was an increase for six consecutive months, the volumes decreased by 190,000 tonnes (t) compared to Sept’21 due to difficulties in vessel availability and maintenance at JFE Steel, according to SteelDaily.
It may be mentioned that exports of hot-rolled coils (HRCs) from India, where demand was sluggish, also contributed to Japan’s low export levels. Moreover, aggressive export offers from China, where domestic sales are sluggish, also contributed to Japan’s lower exports in October.
Exports of steel by destination
ASEAN: In October, Japan’s steel exports to ASEAN increased by 21.7% to 938,000 t, increasing for seven consecutive months, but demand from Vietnam, Thailand, etc was sluggish and stagnating at around 1 mn t for three consecutive months.
South Korea: Exports to South Korea increased by 33.2% to 479,000 t for the fifth consecutive month.
China: Exports to China dropped 13.3% to 396,000 t, down for the sixth consecutive month due to the production and energy curbs. The volumes were higher in the previous year.
USA, EU, Middle East: Sales to USA increased by a sharp 81.4% to 116,000 t. Exports to the EU rose 2.3 times to 77,000 t, and to the Middle East increased by 73.7% to 39,000 t.
Japan’s steel imports
Japan’s steel imports inched down by a mere 0.5% to 594,000 t. But this was a y-o-y decrease for the first time in five months. Of this, imports from South Korea dropped 19.1% y-o-y to 277,000 tons. Imports from China increased 41.2% to 109,000 t, and from ASEAN, up 16.1% to 38,000 t.
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