Philippine exports, which make up one-third of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) were soft in October, while imports expanded, reported the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday.

The Philippine's exports in October struck $6.16 billion, down 5.5% on year, and down 1.5% from September, largely due to slipping electronic product shipments, reported the PSA.

Philippine imports in October reached $12.00 billion, up 11.2 % on year, and up 5.3% from September.

The resulting Philippine trade deficit in October reached $5.80 billion, up 36.8% on year.

In the boarder category of manufactured products, its largest type of export, the Philippines shipped $5.31 billion worth of goods in October, down 21.1% on year.

In October, the Philippines exported $2.87 billion of electronic products, but that level was down from $3.73 billion a year earlier, according to official statistics.

By geography, the US, Japan and mainland China were the Philippines major export markets in October.

The Philippines largest imports by category in October were electronics, and petroleum-related products.

By geography, the largest importers to the Philippines in October were mainland China, Indonesia and South Korea.