Japan's foreign trade in lubricants increased

Source: China National Chemical News July 11, 2019

According to recent data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, domestic lubricant sales in Japan declined in 2018, but both imports and exports increased, and output also increased. In the Japanese lubricant trade, the proportion of overseas trade continues to increase.

In 2018, domestic lubricant sales in Japan fell by 11% to 1.4 million tons. However, the quantity of imported lubricants increased by 30% to nearly 203,000 tons. 92% of Japan’s imported lubricants come from Asia, and the remaining 8% comes from the United States and other parts of the world. In all categories, domestic sales of marine lubricants were almost flat, close to 126,600 tons, industrial lubricants sales fell 1% to 301,200 tons, and metal processing oil sales fell 5% to 141,116 tons. In terms of grease, Japan’s grease imports increased by 39.6% last year to 1,711 tons. Among them, Japan imported 811 tons of grease from the United States, 671 tons from Asia, and the remaining imported grease came from other parts of the world.

In terms of production, Japan's lubricant output increased by 10.9% in 2018 to 2.2 million tons. Exports increased by 23% to 883,000 tons. Asia is Japan's largest export market for lubricants, reaching 841,000 tons. In Asia, South Korea and China are the largest buyers of Japanese lubricants. The company's exports to Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia also increased, but exports to the United States fell from 4,700 tons to 3,870 tons. Japan’s grease export volume fell 31% last year to 841 tons, and its exports to major Asian markets fell sharply.