Total external trade in goods for March 2009 reached $6.176 billion, representing a 33.8 percent decline from $9.323 billion recorded during the same month in 2008. This was attributed to the 36.2 percent decrease of total imports to $3.269 billion from $5.123 billion reported in March 2008. Similarly, total exports went down by 30.8 percent to $2.907 billion from $4.200 billion recorded a year earlier. Thus, the balance of trade in goods (BOT-G) for the Philippines in March 2009 registered a $363 million deficit from $923 million deficit in the same period last year.