The country’s imports declined 28 percent from a year earlier in August, dragged by a fall in electronic product purchases and the lower price of oil products.

The value of imports in August contracted to $3.62 billion from $5.04 billion in the same month last year, representing a 10 percent drop from July when imports reached $4.03 billion, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

Electronic products, which accounted for 36 percent of imports in August and are primarily used as raw material for the manufacture of semiconductors – the country's top export – totaled $1.3 billion, down 21 percent on year. On month, such imports fell 18 percent from July, when it rose 15 percent from June.

The Philippines chalked up a trade deficit of $144 million in August, narrowing from the $650 million gap of a year earlier.

In the eight months to August, the country racked up a trade deficit of $4 billion compared with $6.04 billion a year earlier. Imports from Japan declined 22 percent from a year earlier to $455.3 million in August while those from the US fell 30 percent to $408 million.