According to statistics released by Japan's Ministry of Finance, Japan's nickel ore imports totaled 392,064 tonnes in August this year down 18.2% MoM and decreasing by 4.9% compared to August 2012.

In the first 8 months of the year, Japan's nickel ore imports amounted to 3.3 million tonnes increasing by 13.5% YoY. In the first 8 months of the current year, Japan's nickel ore imports from Indonesia rose 26.9% compared to the same period of the previous year to 1.7 million tonnes while the Philippines exported 968,244 MT of nickel ore to Japan in the first 8 months down 5.5% YoY.