Singapore  - Singapore's manufacturing output in February declined 22.4 per cent from the same month last year as global demand shrank during the worldwide economic downturn, the government said Thursday.

Output in the first two months of this year also declined 26.2 per cent year-on-year, said the Economic Development Board, which promotes Singapore as a global business hub.

The February output of electronics shrank by 37.3 per cent, biomedical products by 27.9 per cent, chemicals by 22.1 per cent and precision engineering by 21.5 per cent.

However, the transport engineering sector expanded by 18.5 per cent and general manufacturing industries increased by 0.6 per cent. (dpa)