According to trade statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the import volume of cold-rolled stainless steel sheets in May was about 18,000 tons, an increase of 62.8% year on year. Among them, the amount of material from China increased by 73.9% to 7,900 tons, the second highest in history. The material from Taiwan is nearly 6,000 tons. South Korean material increased by 9.8% to about 3,800 tons.

In addition to cold-rolled stainless steel sheets, the import volume of hot-rolled stainless steel plates increased by 47.9% to around 5,900 tons.