Last Updated: 10 January 2024
International Trade
From agri-commodities, to metals to energy, trade connects the world and brings people closer. From an aromatic cup of coffee in the morning to the mobile devices we cannot leave our homes without, trade enables us in our daily lives. International trade facilitates the flow of raw materials, industrial and consumer products from sites of production to places of consumption.
The import and export of goods is supported by the Wholesale Trade sector, Singapore’s second largest sector that accounts for 18 percent of her GDP. The sector consists of more than 50,000 companies and employs about 300,000 workers, with close to 70 percent comprising PMET jobs. Singapore is also home to numerous prominent global traders and promising local enterprises across a wide range of commodities – this includes the top 10 global energy traders such as Trafigura, top iron producers such as Rio Tinto and Agri giants such as ADM and Cargill.
To strengthen our competitiveness and status as a leading global trading hub, Singapore launched the Trade 2030 strategy to deepen and widen trade so as to achieve an export value of at least S$1 trillion, and grow our offshore trade value to US$2 trillion by 2030.
Learn more about Singapore’s role as an international trading hub and how Trade is at the heart of all things that matter:
Growth Opportunities
As a diverse sector, there are a myriad of career opportunities in the sector ranging from commodities trading, trade financing, supply chain management, procurement, risk management and more. Mega trends in sustainability and digitalisation also present exciting opportunities in growth areas such as carbon trading and services, the trade of green products such as alternative proteins and biofuels, trade tech and data analytics.
Fun Facts
- Trade is key to Singapore’s economic growth. Singapore’s trade to GDP ratio is >300%.
- Singapore is Asia’s largest oil trading hub and the world’s 2nd largest Agri-trading hub.
- Singapore’s trade is underpinned by our strong connectivity and infrastructure.
- Singapore is the busiest transhipment hub in the world, with more than 30 million TEUs passing through annually.
- Singapore’s new Tuas Megaport is set to be the world’s biggest fully automated port.
- Changi Airport is one of the world’s leading airports for air cargo, and Asia’s most connected international airport.
- Over the years, Singapore has forged an extensive network of 27 Free Trade Agreements.
- Every year, Singapore hosts several international commodity events – some examples include the Financial Times Commodities Asia Summit, the Singapore International Ferrous Week, and the Asia Pacific Petroleum Conference.