Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose by 17.6% y-o-y in January to $18.1 billion, extending its growth trend for the 14th straight month.
According to official figures released by trade agency Enterprise Singapore (ESG), the expansion was thanks to broad-based growth across the segments.
On a seasonally adjusted m-o-m basis, NODX increased by 5.0% in January.
Electronic NODX for the month of January grew 14.0% y-o-y. During the month, integrated circuits (ICs), personal computers (PCs) and disk media products contributed most to the growth, with increases of 17.7%, 31.5% and 18.1% y-o-y respectively.
Non-electronic NODX expanded by 18.6% y-o-y in January, with the highest contributions being structures of ships & boats, specialized machinery and petrochemicals. While figures for structures of ships & boats weren’t released, ESG revealed that specialised machinery and petrochemicals saw y-o-y expansions of 37.6% and 21.9% respectively.
NODX to the top 10 markets as a whole grew in January, with the largest contributors being the US (45.5%), China (26.1%) and the 27 countries in the European Union (EU) at 32.2%.
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NODX to the US expanded due to structures of ships & boats, specialised machinery and measuring instruments, while NODX to China grew thanks to specialised machinery, non-monetary gold and petrochemicals.
NODX to the EU 27 rose due to civil engineering equipment parts, specialised machinery and pharmaceuticals.
Domestic exports to Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea declined during the month.
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NODX to emerging markets (EMs) expanded by 21.6% mainly thanks to the growths in South Asia (38.0%), the Middle East (68.1%) and Latin America (51.2%).
Non-oil re-exports (NORX) grew by 21.8% in January due to growth in both electronic and non-electronic products.
On a seasonally adjusted m-o-m basis, NORX increased by 1.4% to $31.1 billion.
Electronic NORX rose 21.6% y-o-y due to ICs (36.3%), PCs (34.4%) and diodes & transistors (7.2%).
Non-electronic NORX grew by 22.0% y-o-y, which was due to non-electric engines & motors (86.8%), specialised machinery (46.7%) and electrical machinery (48.3%).
NORX to the top 10 markets rose on the whole in January, with the top three contributors being China (37.7%), Hong Kong (18.2%) and Indonesia (41.9%).
Total trade in January rose by 25.0% y-o-y and 0.1% m-o-m to $108.1 billion. During the month, total exports increased by 22.1% y-o-y and 0.2% m-o-m, while total imports grew by 28.3% y-o-y and 0.1% m-o-m.
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NODX in 2021
In 2021, Singapore’s NODX expanded by 12.1% y-o-y, extending from the 4.3% y-o-y growth seen in 2020.
According to ESG, the expansion was attributable mainly to non-electronics, which rose by 10.9% y-o-y.
During the year, the largest contributors to the rise of non-electronic domestic exports were specialised machinery (47.2%), petrochemicals (42.4%) and primary chemicals (59.7%).
Electronic NODX for the year also expanded by 16.3% y-o-y in 2021, with ICs, PCs and diodes & transistors being the highest contributors with y-o-y expansions of 15.0%, 50.4% and 32.1% respectively.
NODX to the top 10 markets grew in 2021, with the biggest contributors being China (29.1%), Taiwan (29.0%) and South Korea (26.3%). 2021 NODX to the US, Japan and the EU 27 declined during the year.
Electronic NODX to the top markets grew in 2021, except to the US. Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea were the biggest contributors with increases of 22.5%, 22.4% and 72.8% y-o-y respectively.
Non-electronic NODX to the top markets also increased in 2021, though exports to the US, Japan and the EU 27 declined. The biggest contributors to the growth in non-electronic NODX were China (32.0%), Taiwan (35.6%) and Malaysia (19.6%).
In 2021, NORX expanded 19.2% y-o-y due to the higher shipments of both electronic and non-electronic re-exports.
Electronic NORX expanded by 24.8% y-o-y due to higher re-exports of ICs, telecommunications equipment and diodes & transistors at 29.0%, 12.7% and 15.3% respectively.
Non-electronic NORX grew by 12.9% y-o-y in 2021 due to higher re-exports of non-monetary gold (92.4%), specialised machinery (52.0%) and electrical machinery (31.0%).
In 2021, NORX to the top markets grew on the whole with the biggest contributors being Hong Kong, China and Malaysia at 29.5%, 27.7% and 22.3% respectively.
2021 oil domestic exports expanded by 38.0% due to higher shipments of oil to Australia (139.3%), Indonesia (62.3%) and Malaysia (39.0%).
In volume terms, oil domestic exports declined by 10.2% in 2021, after the 3.6% growth in 2020.
Oil re-exports rose by 19.1% y-o-y in 2021 mainly due to China (84.7%), Japan (688.5%) and Malaysia (47.6%).
In volume terms, oil re-exports declined by 26.2% in 2021, after the previous year’s growth of 37.9%.
During the year, total merchandise trade grew by 19.7% to $1.2 trillion, with increases in both exports and imports. Non-oil trade rose by 15.9%, while oil trade expanded by 43.6% amid higher oil prices.
Total services trade increased by 6.8% to reach $609 billion in 2021 after the 0.7% decline in 2020.
Outlook for 2022
ESG has kept its estimate for both total merchandise trade and NODX at 0.0% to +2.0% for the year, with growth expected to ease from a high base in 2021, in line with the global economic and trade outlook.
