Japan Dec chemical exports rise 15.6%, overall shipments up 17.5%

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Japan’s chemical exports rose by 15.6% year on year to yen (Y) 964bn in December, supporting the overall rise in shipments abroad, official data showed on Thursday.

Exports of organic chemicals rose by 40.7% year on year to Y192bn in December, while shipments of plastic materials were up by 9.2% at Y277bn, Ministry of Finance data showed.

On a volume basis, exports of plastic materials fell by 12.1% year on year to 522,916 tonnes in December.

Japan’s overall exports rose by 17.5% year on year in December to Y7,881bn while imports surged by 41.1% to 8,464bn.

This resulted in a trade deficit of around Y582bn, compared with a surplus of Y708bn in December 2020.

Overall exports to China rose by 10.8% year on year in December while shipments to the US were up by 22.1%.