Foreign wholesale trade up by 13.6% QoQ in Q1

On a yearly basis, it grew by 46.7%.

The foreign wholesale trade increased by 13.6% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), on a seasonally-adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2022, with petroleum and petroleum products reporting the highest growth, Department of Statistics, said.

Excluding the petroleum industry, foreign wholesale sales rose by 6.7% QoQ, on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Petroleum and its related products rose by 21.6% QoQ in the wake of global oil price hike whilst foreign sales of electronic components and transport equipment rose by 16.3% and 15.4% QoQ, respectively. This was due to higher demand for semiconductors and motor vehicles.

However, ship chandlers and bunkering and general wholesale trade industries declined by 1.8% and 1.1%, respectively.

On a yearly basis, foreign sales went up by 46.7%; whilst, excluding petroleum, it rose by 25.1%.

Foreign sales of petroleum and its related items climbed to 77.6% year-on-year because of higher global prices of crude oil and petrochemicals.