Kinki Region Sees Trade Amount Fall 24 Pct on Airport Closure

October 18, 2018

Osaka- The Kinki region in western Japan, including Osaka, saw the values of exports and imports both fall around 24 pct in September, mainly due to the temporary closure of Kansai International Airport, Osaka Customs said Thursday.

Exports from the region dropped 24.5 pct from a year before to 1,119.4 billion yen, while imports to the region plunged 24.4 pct to 931.7 billion yen, the custom office said in a preliminary report.

The busy airport located on an artificial island in Osaka Prefecture was closed for several days in September due to damage from a powerful typhoon that hit the region.

According to Osaka Customs, the decline of exports in the reporting month was the steepest since October 2009, when the global economy was slumping in the aftermath of the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008.

Imports to the Kinki region accounted for 14.1 pct of overall imports to Japan, the smallest proportion since comparable data became available in 1979.

By item, exports of electronic components, including semiconductors, and those of optical instruments from the region both plunged over 45 pct, reflecting sharp falls in shipments to China.

Imports of pharmaceutical products from Germany and other countries tumbled 78.4 pct, while those of communication devices, mainly mobile phones from China, went down 67.2 pct. Jiji Press