Stainless Steel Exports Rise in Japan

According to the latest figures released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance (MOF), the country has seen an increase in stainless steel exports since the beginning of 2015. Export of stainless products increased slightly compared to export during the last month of last year.

Stainless steel exports from Japan totaled 86,504 tons in January, up 2.9 percent from the previous month. Export shipments of stainless steel in December 2014 totaled 84,066 tons.

China has become the largest export destination for Japanese stainless steel. Exports to China reached 18,275 tons, accounting for over 21 percent of Japan's total stainless steel exports for the month. At the same time, exports from Japan to China decreased by 20.2 percent compared to exports in December 2014. South Korea came in second with total imports of 15,089 tons. Exports of stainless steel products to South Korea jumped 28.2 percent month-on-month. The third largest export destination was Taiwan. The country's imports of Japanese stainless steel totaled 10,137 tons, down 9.3 percent from the previous month.

The average export price of stainless steel from Japan during January 2015 was $ 3,770 per tonne, a slight decrease (by 0.6 percent) from the previous month. During the month, stainless steel exports generated total revenue of $ 326.12 million.