Japan’s June chemical exports rise by 39.6%, total exports up 48.6%

SINGGAPORE (ICIS)–Japan’s chemical exports surged by 39.6% year on year to yen (Y) 885.2bn in June, supporting the overall rise in shipments abroad, official data showed on Wednesday.

Exports of organic chemicals rose by 40.9% year on year to Y159.7bn in June while shipments of plastic materials abroad rose by 43.1% to Y248.8bn, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement.

On a volume basis, exports of plastic materials rose by 10.2% year on year to 495,302 tonnes in June.

Japan’s overall exports rose by 48.6% year on year to Y7,220.8bn in June, while imports were up by 32.7% to Y6,837.6bn.

This resulted in a trade surplus of Y383.2bn in June this year, compared with the Y291bn deficit in June 2020.

Total shipments to China rose by 27.7% year on year in June while exports to the US surged by 85.5%.