Singapore  - Following the global economic slowdown and shrinking demand for electronics and other goods from all it's top markets, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports suffered a year-on-year fall of 35 per cent in January, the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the city state's agency to promote external business, reported on Tuesday.

The heavy drop in January followed a year-on-year decline by 21 per cent in December.

In January, the non-oil domestic exports to all of Singapore's top 10 markets tumbled, with China, the US and Malaysia being the largest contributors to the decrease.

Compared to January 2008, non-oil exports to China were 52 per cent lower in January, exports to the US fell by 50 per cent and exports to Malaysia by 40 per cent, the IE said in a statement.

On a year-to-year basis, the overall export of electronic products like computer parts or disk drives fell 38 per cent in January 2009. Export of non-electronic products like chemicals decreased by 32 per cent compared to January 2008.

As Singapore's economy heavily depends on trade, the worldwide recession hits the city state hard. According to media reports, the present decline is worse than that of September 2001, following the terrorist attacks in the US, when exports dropped nearly 31 per cent. (dpa)