Japan’s July chemical exports rise 15.9%, overall shipments grow 19%

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Japan’s chemical exports rose by 15.9% year on year to yen (Y) 1,017bn in July, supporting the overall growth in shipments abroad, official data showed on Wednesday.

The country’s exports of organic chemicals rose by 30.6% year on year to Y198bn in July, while shipments of plastic materials were up by 8.0%, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement.

On a volume basis, exports of plastic materials fell by 8.3% year on year to 456,257 tonnes in July.

Japan’s overall exports rose by 19% year on year to Y8,753bn in July while imports were up by 47.2% at Y10,190bn.

The country’s exports to China rose by 12.8% in July, while shipments to the US were up by 13.8%.