Singapore’s domestic wholesale trade expanded 34.9% y-o-y in the 4Q in 2021, according to figures released by the Department of Statistics Singapore (Singstat) on Feb 18.
The growth was attributed to growths in all wholesale trade industries during the quarter, led by the ship chandlers & bunkering, chemicals & chemical products, and petroleum & petroleum products industries.
The surge in domestic sales of the ship chandlers & bunkering (74.1%) & petroleum & petroleum products (54.4%) were attributable to a sharp increase in oil prices.
Meanwhile, the chemicals & chemical products industry rose 64.0%, due to improved demand and higher prices of petrochemicals.
The household equipment & furniture and other wholesale trade industries improved by 19.1% and 18.2% respectively, due partly to higher sales of audio and video equipment as well as medicinal and pharmaceutical products.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, total domestic wholesale trade rose 3.6% q-o-q, led by the chemicals & chemical products industry.
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Excluding petroleum, Singapore’s domestic wholesale trade rose 22.2% y-o-y and 4.9% q-o-q.
Singapore’s foreign wholesale sales grew by 48.7% y-o-y. According to Singstat, the increase was due partly to the recovery of the global oil market.
All wholesale trade industries recorded higher foreign sales on a y-o-y basis, led by petroleum & petroleum products and ship chandlers & bunkering, which surged 94.4% and 78.8% respectively.
The spike in foreign sales for these industries were due to improved external demand and higher petroleum prices.
The chemicals & chemical products industry also registered a 53.2% y-o-y growth due to better external demand and higher chemical prices.
Similarly, the metals, timber & construction materials and electronic components industries rose 35.0% and 29.5% y-o-y respectively on the back of higher prices for metals and metal ores, as well as heightened demand for electronic components.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, total foreign wholesale trade rose 7.5% q-o-q, led by the ship chandlers & bunkering industry.
Excluding petroleum, Singapore’s foreign wholesale trade rose 25.2% y-o-y and 5.6% q-o-q.
