That dollar amount reflects a 24.9% increase since 2018 when Singaporean exports totaled $412.1 billion.
Year over year, the total value of Singapore’s exports rose 12.5% compared to $457.7 billion for 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, the Singapore dollar depreciated by -2.2% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -2.6% from 2021 to 2022. Singapore’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers during 2022.
Major Countries Buying Products Exported from Singapore
The latest available country-specific data shows that 75.3% of products exported from Singapore were bought by importers in: mainland China (12.4% of the global total), Hong Kong (11.2%), Malaysia (10%), United States of America (8.8%), Indonesia (7.2%), Taiwan (4.9%), South Korea (4.05%), Japan (4.04%), Thailand (3.4%), Vietnam (3.3%), Australia (3.2%) and India (2.7%).
From a continental perspective, 71.7% of Singapore exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 9.44% was sold to North American importers. Singapore shipped another 9.38% worth of goods to Europe. Smaller percentages went to Oceania led by Australia, Marshall Islands and New Zealand (5.5%), Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean (2.1%) then Africa (1.8%).
Given Singapore’s population of 5.64 million people, its total $514.8 billion in 2022 exports translates to a formidable $91,300 for every resident in the exports-dependent nation. That dollar metric eclipses the average $83,900 per capita in 2021.
Singapore is busy trading hub which attracts a high degree of re-exporting activity with its trading partners.
Singapore’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Singaporean global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Singapore.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: US$181 billion (35.2% of total exports)
- Machinery including computers: $75.1 billion (14.6%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $65.6 billion (12.7%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $23.2 billion (4.5%)
- Gems, precious metals: $22.6 billion (4.4%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $15.6 billion (3%)
- Organic chemicals: $13.9 billion (2.7%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $10.2 billion (2%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $9.8 billion (1.9%)
- Other chemical goods: $7.7 billion (1.5%)
Singapore’s top 10 exports represent 82.5% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 42.7% from 2021 to 2022. Refined petroleum oils comprise the biggest driver for Singapore’s mineral fuels-related growth products.
In second place for improving export sales was the machinery including computers category, via an 8.6% advance.
Singapore’s shipments of electrical machinery, equipment: posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 8.3%.
The leading decliner among Singapore’s top 10 export categories was pharmaceuticals, thanks to a -4.2% year-over-year reduction.
Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level. For a more granular view of exported goods at the four-digit HTS code level, see the section Searchable List of Singapore’s Most Valuable Export Products further down near the bottom of this article.
Products Generating Biggest Trade Surpluses for Singapore
Overall, Singapore posted a $39.6 billion trade surplus in 2022. Singapore’s trade surplus fell by -22% from $50.8 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2021.
The following types of Singaporean product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Electrical machinery, equipment: US$26.2 billion (Down by -9.9% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: $9.7 billion (Up by 5.2%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $7.5 billion (Down by -1.5%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $7.1 billion (Down by -6.4%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: $5.9 billion (Up by 6.8%)
- Perfumes, cosmetics: $5.4 billion (Down by -4.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $4.7 billion (Down by -19.9%)
- Organic chemicals: $3.3 billion (Down by -31.3%)
- Ships, boats: $2.4 billion (Up by 1398.9%)
- Other chemical goods: $2.1 billion (Up by 19.4%)
Singapore has highly positive net exports in the international trade of electronics including consumer gadgets. In turn, these cashflows indicate Singapore’s strong competitive advantages under the electrical machinery and equipment category.
Products Causing Worst Trade Deficits for Singapore
Below are exports from Singapore that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Singapore’s goods trail Singaporean importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$39.6 billion (Up by 34.2% since 2021)
- Gems, precious metals: -$3.9 billion (Up by 822.7%)
- Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$2.5 billion (Up by 29.8%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: -$2.2 billion (Up by 175.8%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$1.7 billion (Up by 37.3%)
- Vehicles: -$1.2 billion (Up by 5.6%)
- Iron, steel: -$1.1 billion (Up by 6.9%)
- Meat: -$1.04 billion (Up by 19%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$1.03 billion (Up by 2.4%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: -$1.01 billion (Up by 11%)
Singapore has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for mineral fuels-related goods, particularly crude petroleum oil and petroleum gases.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Singapore’s competitive disadvantages in the international fossil fuel market, but also represent key opportunities for Singapore to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations especially alternative energy sources.
Singapore’s Major Export Companies
Seventeen corporations based in Singapore rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major Singaporean export companies that Forbes included.
- Wilmar International (food processing)
- Keppel Corp (industrial conglomerates)
- Flextronics International (electronics)
- Avago Technologies (semiconductors)
- ST Engineering (aerospace )
- Olam International (food processing)
- Golden Agri-Resources (food processing)
- China Aviation Oil (jet fuel trading)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Singapore. Selected examples are shown below.
- Singapore Technologies Engineering (electronics manufacturing)
- Medical Technology (medical/healthcare equipment)
- Singapore Telecommunications Limited (communications)
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following smaller companies are also examples of Singaporean export companies.
- Wajilam Export Singapore (wood, chocolate)
- Asahi Glass Singapore (glass sheets)
- Sephora Singapore (copper pipes/tubes, cabinets)
- Ltt Veneer Singapore (soybean flours, hams)
Searchable List of Singapore’s Most Valuable Export Products
The following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from Singapore during 2022. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2021.
| Rank | Singapore's Export Product | 2022 US$ | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Integrated circuits/microassemblies | $122,050,563,000 | +8.4% |
| 2 | Processed petroleum oils | $63,420,932,000 | +53.2% |
| 3 | Machinery for making semi-conductors | $21,207,220,000 | +19.6% |
| 4 | Gold (unwrought) | $15,469,641,000 | +2.9% |
| 5 | Turbo-jets | $15,284,042,000 | +26.5% |
| 6 | Phone devices including smartphones | $13,564,418,000 | -1.4% |
| 7 | Solar power diodes/semi-conductors | $13,109,444,000 | +16.4% |
| 8 | Computers, optical readers | $10,550,357,000 | +11.1% |
| 9 | Other food preparations | $6,864,193,000 | +6% |
| 10 | Beauty/makeup/skin care preparations | $6,251,104,000 | -5.3% |
| 11 | Ethylene polymers | $5,635,304,000 | -0.4% |
| 12 | Medication mixes in dosage | $5,566,580,000 | -4.6% |
| 13 | Electrical machinery | $5,411,935,000 | +64.9% |
| 14 | Unrecorded sound media | $4,998,736,000 | -2.1% |
| 15 | Physical/chemical analysis tools | $4,980,321,000 | +6.2% |
| 16 | Printing machinery | $4,533,173,000 | -37.6% |
| 17 | Aircraft or spacecraft parts | $4,478,490,000 | +0% |
| 18 | Other measuring/testing machines | $3,771,932,000 | +18.1% |
| 19 | Computer parts, accessories | $3,726,923,000 | -5.2% |
| 20 | Jewelry | $3,448,686,000 | +19.3% |
| 21 | Lower-voltage switches, fuses | $3,439,003,000 | +10.3% |
| 22 | Propylene/olefin polymers | $3,248,280,000 | -1.5% |
| 23 | Electro-medical equip (e.g. xrays) | $3,085,878,000 | -10.4% |
| 24 | Miscellaneous machinery | $2,906,499,000 | +6.8% |
| 25 | Orthopedic appliances | $2,781,131,000 | -2% |
| 26 | Cyclic hydrocarbons | $2,745,461,000 | +3.6% |
| 27 | Blood fractions (including antisera) | $2,714,442,000 | +0.3% |
| 28 | Heterocyclics, nucleic acids | $2,424,685,000 | +24.4% |
| 29 | Machinery parts | $2,407,644,000 | +34% |
| 30 | Light vessels, fire boats, floating docks | $2,397,562,000 | +4376% |
| 31 | Scents used for beverage or industrial manufacturing | $2,225,637,000 | +5.3% |
| 32 | Anti-knock/oxidation/gum inhibitors | $2,175,839,000 | +12% |
| 33 | Electrical capacitators | $2,065,293,000 | -4.2% |
| 34 | Alcohol (including spirits, liqueurs) | $1,998,098,000 | -10.6% |
| 35 | Electrical converters/power units | $1,965,602,000 | +9.4% |
| 36 | Electric circuit parts, fuses, switches | $1,871,010,000 | +5.7% |
| 37 | Automobile parts/accessories | $1,743,602,000 | +6.6% |
| 38 | Other diagnostic/lab reagents | $1,694,754,000 | -10.2% |
| 39 | Cases, handbags, wallets | $1,622,982,000 | +20.9% |
| 40 | Polyacetal/ether/carbonates | $1,603,962,000 | -20.8% |
| 41 | Diamonds (unmounted/unset) | $1,570,088,000 | +35% |
| 42 | Mechano-therapy appliances | $1,554,166,000 | +10.7% |
| 43 | Taps, valves, similar appliances | $1,540,551,000 | +12.4% |
| 44 | Petroleum oil residues | $1,508,624,000 | +39.7% |
| 45 | Oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers | $1,494,818,000 | +1.8% |
| 46 | Saturated acyclic mono acids | $1,380,955,000 | -11.9% |
| 47 | Motorcycle parts/accessories | $1,370,152,000 | +14.4% |
| 48 | Acyclic alcohols | $1,354,756,000 | -27.2% |
| 49 | Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels | $1,333,437,000 | +7.7% |
| 50 | Wrist/pocket watches (precious metal case) | $1,290,737,000 | -0.02% |
| 51 | Perfumes, toilet waters | $1,220,612,000 | +1.9% |
| 52 | Amino-compounds (oxygen) | $1,208,266,000 | +3.5% |
| 53 | Insulated wire/cable | $1,199,780,000 | +4.1% |
| 54 | Chemicals used in electronics | $1,185,507,000 | -3.1% |
| 55 | Optical fiber cables, sheets, plates | $1,174,116,000 | +27.3% |
| 56 | Chemical industry products/residuals | $1,103,840,000 | +38.6% |
| 57 | Electric storage batteries | $1,058,163,000 | +4.6% |
| 58 | TV receiver/transmit/digital cameras | $987,425,000 | -4.8% |
| 59 | Synthetic rubber | $984,492,000 | +20.5% |
| 60 | Miscellaneous machinery parts | $983,438,000 | 0% |
| 61 | Miscellaneous plastic items | $970,848,000 | +14.2% |
| 62 | Flour/meal/starch/malt extract food preparations | $909,118,000 | +3.4% |
| 63 | Air or vacuum pumps | $886,667,000 | +10.8% |
| 64 | Centrifuges, filters and purifiers | $883,677,000 | +3.2% |
| 65 | Liquid pumps and elevators | $818,952,000 | +9.7% |
| 66 | Piston engine parts | $817,909,000 | +5.9% |
| 67 | Radar, radio communication items | $798,936,000 | +6.5% |
| 68 | Ball, roller bearings | $788,880,000 | -15.3% |
| 69 | Printed circuits | $739,291,000 | -2.9% |
| 70 | Assembly machines for lamps, tubes, valves | $719,673,000 | -61.9% |
| 71 | Dried organs, heparin | $717,977,000 | -12.7% |
| 72 | Primary batteries/cells | $705,179,000 | -6.9% |
| 73 | Precious metal waste, scrap | $697,642,000 | -9.2% |
| 74 | Electric motors, generators | $696,487,000 | +17.5% |
| 75 | Refrigerators, freezers | $677,713,000 | -22.8% |
| 76 | Electrical resistors | $670,573,000 | +11.5% |
| 77 | Microphones/headphones/amplifiers | $645,659,000 | +8.4% |
| 78 | Wrist/pocket watches (no precious metal case) | $645,170,000 | +9.9% |
| 79 | Temperature-change machines | $635,927,000 | +15.8% |
| 80 | Acyclic hydrocarbons | $598,169,000 | -13.7% |
| 81 | Regulate/control instruments | $596,769,000 | +30.9% |
| 82 | Iron or steel scrap | $594,645,000 | +8.2% |
| 83 | Carboxylic acids | $575,187,000 | +438.9% |
| 84 | Wine | $572,397,000 | -4% |
| 85 | Packaged insecticides/fungicides/herbicides | $567,841,000 | +5% |
| 86 | Miscellaneous iron or steel items | $562,299,000 | +9.8% |
| 87 | Chocolate, other cocoa preparations | $559,376,000 | +9.8% |
| 88 | Liquid/gas checking instruments | $558,347,000 | +6.7% |
| 89 | Aircraft, spacecraft | $553,278,000 | +294.3% |
| 90 | Other organic cleaning preparations | $533,681,000 | -1.3% |
| 91 | Acrylic polymers | $528,507,000 | -3.7% |
| 92 | TV/radio/radar device parts | $527,806,000 | -30.7% |
| 93 | Unwrought tin | $525,537,000 | +19.4% |
| 94 | Survey/hydro/weather instruments | $511,689,000 | +4.5% |
| 95 | TV receivers/monitors/projectors | $511,258,000 | -24.5% |
| 96 | X-ray equipment | $510,992,000 | -2.4% |
| 97 | Vulcanized rubber items | $486,625,000 | +14.1% |
| 98 | Self-adhesive plastic in rolls | $486,133,000 | +4.7% |
| 99 | Sulphonamides | $482,069,000 | -42.5% |
| 100 | Medication mixes not in dosage | $473,552,000 | -7.5% |
These 100 exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$425.2 billion or 82.6% by value for all products exported from Singapore during 2022.
Focusing on Singapore’s 100 most valuable exports, the strongest gains compared to 2021 were for exported light vessels, fire boats and floating docks (up 4,376%), carboxylic acids (up 438.9%) and aircraft or spacecraft (up 294.3%).
See also Singapore’s Top Trading Partners , Singapore’s Top 10 Imports, Singapore’s Top 10 Major Export Companies and China’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on May 16, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 16, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on May 16, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 16, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 16, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 16, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 16, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Singapore. Accessed on May 16, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 16, 2023
Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on May 16, 2023
