MANILA, Philippines ? Philippine exports fell 18.3 percent from a year earlier to $3.63 billion in September as sales of electronics products remained weak, the government said Tuesday.

However, the decline is moderating and shipments were up 4.6 percent compared to the previous month, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.

Electronics, which accounted for 62 percent of the nation's September exports, fell 13.2 percent from the previous year but rose 9.3 percent from the previous month to $2.25 billion.

Copper, petroleum products, and garments were the biggest losers for the month, it added.

For the nine months to September, exports fell 29 percent to $27.64 billion, with electronics shipments down 30 percent to $15.98 billion.