SINGAPORE: Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) shrank 20.7% in March from a high base a year ago, as both electronic and non-electronic shipments slumped.

The steep contraction followed a revised drop of 0.2% in February and was worse than the 7.4% fall forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.

Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) said on March 17 that the decline in March was driven largely by non-electronics, which includes pharmaceuticals shipments, though electronic shipments also fell.

Non-electronic Nodx contracted by 23.2% in March from a year ago, extending the 1.7% decline in February.

Shipments from the volatile pharmaceutical segment sank 70.3% (S$2.1bil), while exports of ship and boat structures slid 99.8% (S$900mil), contributing to the sharp declines in non-electronic shipments.

Both fell from a high base a year ago.

Year-on-year, electronic exports resumed their decline, falling by 9.4% in March, snapping two months of positive growth in February (5.2%) and January (0.6%).

Telecommunications equipment, integrated circuits (ICs), and diodes and transistors contributed the most to the drop.

Telecommunications equipment fell by 38.8% (S$100mil​​), diodes and transistors by 11% and ICs – which formed about half of electronic Nodx – gave up 8% (S$100mil​​).

Integrated circuits, commonly called chips or microchips, are a vital component of various electronic devices.

On a month-on-month basis seasonally adjusted, which removes the effects of seasonal variations in the numbers, Nodx fell by 8.4% in March, sharper than the 4.9% decline in February.

In value terms, March Nodx came to S$13bil, lower than the previous month’s S$14.2bil and the year-ago level of S$15.7bil.By markets, shipments to top 10 markets fell, mainly due to drops to the United States, the European Union (EU) and Japan.

Shipments of pharmaceuticals and structures of ships and boats led to the 50.2% decline in exports to the United States.

Nodx to the EU contracted by 45.4%, due also to pharmaceuticals, specialised machinery and telecommunications equipment.

But Nodx to China grew 11.9% in March, after falling 0.1% in the previous month. Hong Kong (16.5% growth) and Taiwan (2% growth) were also bright spots for Singapore’s exports in March.

Total trade fell by 1.8% in March to S$106.9bil, following the 3.5% increase in February as imports also declined, along with exports.

EnterpriseSG forecast in February that growth in key exports will range between 4% and 6% in 2024, up from its November projection of a 2% to 4% increase.

Last week, advance estimates showed that the Singapore economy grew 2.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, faster than the 2.2% growth recorded in the last quarter of 2023. — The Straits Times/ANN