Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in December grew 9.4 percent year on year, following a 9.9 percent growth in the previous month, official statistics showed Monday.

The December figure, released by trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore, is lower than previous market estimates of around 12 percent, largely due to a decline in electronic shipments. NODX, a key measure of the competitiveness of Singapore-made products, increased 8.9 percent month on month in December, compared with a decline of 13 percent for November.

Electronic domestic exports contracted by 1.1 percent year-on- year in December. Non-electronic NODX, however, expanded by 16 percent, led by petrochemicals, specialized machinery and measuring instruments.

Exports growth to China eased sharply to 10 percent in December from 37 percent in the previous month. Shipments to the United States contracted 0.3 percent, in contrast to a 13 percent rise in November.

Meanwhile, exports to the European Union remained strong, rising 21 percent following a 20 percent rise in the preceding month.

Total exports rose by 4.9 percent month on month on a seasonally adjusted basis in December, while imports contracted by 2.3 percent. On a year-on-year basis, total exports grew by 12 percent, while imports increased by 5.5 percent.

For 2010 as a whole, Singapore's exports grew 22.4 percent to 371 billion U.S. dollars, while imports grew 18.8 percent to 327.9 billion U.S. dollars.

The statistics are broadly in line with government assessment that exports may gradually slow into 2011 as global growths slow down. The government has projected non-oil exports growth to slow to around 6-8 percent this year from an estimated 23-24 percent in 2010.