SINGAPORE: Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) shrank 20.7 per cent 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 per cent in February and was worse than the 7.4 per cent 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 per cent in March from a year ago, extending the 1.7 per cent decline in February.

Shipments from the volatile pharmaceutical segment sank 70.3 per cent ($2.1 billion) while exports of ship and boat structures slid 99.8 per cent ($900 million), 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 per cent in March, snapping two months of positive growth in February (5.2 per cent) and January (0.6 per cent).

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

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

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 per cent in March, sharper than the 4.9 per cent decline in February.

In value terms, March Nodx came to $13 billion, lower than the previous month’s $14.2 billion and the year-ago level of $15.7 billion.

By markets, shipments to Singapore’s top 10 markets fell, mainly due to drops to the United States, the European Union and Japan.

Shipments of pharmaceuticals and structures of ships & boats led to the 50.2 per cent decline in exports to the US.

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

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

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

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

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