Singapore's re-exports surged 16.1% in May 2025, but domestic exports fell 3.5% as shipments to major partners like the US and Thailand weakened.
KEY POINTS
IN SIMPLE TERMS
Singapore sells goods in two ways: things it makes itself (domestic exports) and things it buys and sells on to other countries (re-exports). In May 2025, the re-export business was booming and growing fast, but the domestic export side stumbled. Some of Singapore's biggest trading partners bought less.
WHY IT MATTERS
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Do you think Singapore can maintain strong trade growth in 2025 despite global changes?
👍 👎 Vote ↓Singapore’s latest trade results show a mixed month, with strong re-exports but weaker domestic exports to some of the country’s closest trading partners.
In a press release by Enterprise SG, Singapore’s trade grew for May 2025.
Total trade was up 1.0% compared to last year.
This came after a 14.7% surge in April 2025.
Exports increased by 2.5% while imports fell 0.5% in May.
As stated in the Enterprise SG document, “Increased by 1.0% in May 2025, following the 14.7% growth in April 2025; exports rose while imports declined.”
The rise in exports was led by non-oil goods, which grew 9.9% over the year.
Oil exports fell sharply by 26.5%.
NODX dropped 3.5% in May 2025 from May 2024.
This followed a strong 12.4% gain in April.
The fall came mainly from non-electronic products like petrochemicals and non-monetary gold.
As Enterprise SG stated, “Declined by 3.5% in May 2025, following the 12.4% growth in April 2025; non-electronics decreased while electronics grew.”
However, electronics performed better.
NODX for electronic goods was up 1.7%.
This included strong sales of PCs (+50.9%), integrated circuits (ICs +4.3%), and consumer electronics (+49.0%).
Non-electronic NODX slipped 5.3% as key items like petrochemicals (-17.8%), non-monetary gold (-25.9%), and specialised machinery (-11.7%) fell.
For the first five months of 2025, NODX rose 3.7%.
The three-month moving average showed 4.7% growth in May, down from 8.5% in April.
Exports fell to big partners like the US, Thailand, and Malaysia.
The US market dropped 20.6%, after barely rising 1.2% in April.
This was from lower sales of specialised machinery (-49.2%), food preparations (-35.7%), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (-41.0%).
Exports to Thailand dropped 17.0%, with non-monetary gold (-35.5%), food preparations (-55.3%), and PCs (-76.3%) all doing worse.
NODX to Malaysia fell 7.6%, after falling 1.0% in April.
On the other hand, exports grew to Taiwan (+17.2%), Indonesia (+8.1%), South Korea (+4.8%), and Hong Kong (+0.1%) in May 2025.
| Market | April 2025 | May 2025 | Key Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | 1.2% | -20.6% | Down in electronics & non-electronics |
| Thailand | 10.5% | -17.0% | Down in non-monetary gold, food, PCs |
| Malaysia | -1.0% | -7.6% | Down in non-monetary gold, peripherals |
| Taiwan | 47.4% | 17.2% | Up (strong growth) |
| Indonesia | 111.1% | 8.1% | Up (especially electronics) |
| South Korea | 37.9% | 4.8% | Up (electronics key) |
| Hong Kong | 26.4% | 0.1% | Slightly up |
NORX grew well in May 2025, up 16.1%.
This was slower than 39.3% in April but still strong.
As Enterprise SG stated, “Expanded by 16.1% in May 2025, easing from the 39.3% increase in April 2025; both electronics and non-electronics rose.”
This was due to higher sales of electronic items (+29.9% in May, including PCs at +284.3%, ICs at +12.6%, and telecom equipment at +42.9%).
Non-electronics NORX went up 1.1%.
Major export jumps went to Taiwan (+152.5%), the US (+86.9%), and Vietnam (+49.1%).
The growth pace slowed a little but remained strong over the past three months.
The three-month average was 20.0% in May, up from 19.2% in April
Enterprise SG noted products and export markets are ranked by size of change, not percentage.
Trade data now uses the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature 2022 version.
Data is shared in nominal terms, but real trade data is available in the report’s appendix.
The monthly report also reminds that numbers can change due to future updates.
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Do you think Singapore can maintain strong trade growth in 2025 despite global changes?
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