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Japan posts record fiscal-year trade deficit

19 April 2012 08:12 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. apan on Thursday posted a record trade deficit for the 2011 fiscal year with car and electronics exports tumbling, while energy imports soared in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, APA reports quoting AFP.

The 2011 fiscal-year deficit hit 4.410 trillion yen ($54.2 billion), according to the finance ministry, the worst figure on record amid continuing worries about the world’s third largest economy.

For decades, Japan enjoyed huge trade surpluses owing to its competitive cars, electronics and other exports.

But the country is resource-poor and demand for fossil fuels has surged after last year’s quake-tsunami disaster sparked the world’s worst nuclear accident in a generation, leading the government to take many atomic reactors offline.

At the same time demand in the country’s key European market suffered as the eurozone debt crisis took hold.

For the year ended March, Japanese exports fell 3.7 percent to 65.282 trillion yen while imports soared 11.6 percent to 69.692 trillion yen, as worries mount that Japan will face energy shortages this summer.

All but one of its nuclear reactors have been shut down following the disaster.

Exports of electronic components fell 14.7 percent, followed by a 5.4 percent fall in vehicle shipments, with last year’s natural disasters disrupting manufacturers’ supply chains and hampering exports.

In the same period, crude oil imports rose 21.9 percent while liquefied natural gas orders shot up 52.2 percent.