South Korea’s Aggressive Brass Bar Export to China, USA

South Korean brass bar makers are aggressively increasing export. South Korea’s brass bar export reached 5,600 tonnes per month in March and April which renewed the monthly record for 2 months in a row, according to the trade statistics by Korea Customs Service. About 60% of the export was to China and the USA. The export hasn’t increased to Japan but the indirect effects have emerged for the processed products.

South Korea’s brass bar export to China was 5,635 tonnes in April, which hit the highest volume since June 2008. The export to the USA kept the increase for 3 months in a row and hit record of 1,626 tonnes in April. Compared with the monthly average volume in 2011, the export to China was 26% higher and the export to the USA was 42% higher.

The annual export increased by 6% to 54,309 tonnes in 2011 from 2010. This volume is almost double of Japanese brass bar export.

The export to Mainland China was 16,758 tonnes and 23,709 tonnes including Hong Kong in 2011. Korean brass bar seems to be actively adopted by local transplants of non-China manufacturers, including Japanese enterprises. The export to the USA was 13,755 tonnes in 2011 despite of the strong presence of major local brass bar makers such as Chase Brass & Copper Company.

The export to Japan hasn’t increased statistically. The monthly export decreased by 81 tonnes to 217 tonnes in April from March. However, it is said that South Korean brass bar makers are offering the product supply to Japanese users. Import of secondary and tertiary processed products is gradually increasing from China to Japan.