S’pore non-oil domestic exports dip 3.3% in Nov

SINGAPORE — The Republic’s exports slipped into contraction for November, due to a decline in non-electronic exports which outweighed the increase in electronic exports.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell 3.3 per cent last month on a year-on-year basis, compared to the flat growth in October, trade agency IE Singapore said today (Dec 17).

Non-electronic products contracted by 5.1 per cent, reversing from the 1.4 per cent expansion the previous month. The decline was led mainly by a fall in exports of pharmaceuticals, structural parts and food preparations.

Shipments of electronic products grew by 0.7 per cent, in contrast to the 3.2 per cent decline in the previous month, due mainly to a growth in exports of telecommunications equipment, other computer peripherals and diodes & transistors.

NODX to six out of the top 10 NODX markets contracted last month, with the exceptions being the United States, Japan, Thailand and South Korea. The top contributors to the decline were China, Malaysia and the European Union.

Shipments to China, Singapore’s top destination for exports, contracted for the fifth consecutive month to fall by 9.1 per cent, extending from the 8.7 per cent decline the preceding month.