CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan oil exports fell 8.7percent in August to an average of 2.34 million barrels per dayas a drop in sales of crude and products offset rising outputfrom the Orinoco belt, the energy ministry said Tuesday.

South America's top crude producer has had slowly decliningforeign sales and output since early 2009, when it applied a360,000 bpd cut in line with an OPEC decision.

The data, certified by an independent auditor, showed crudesales of 1.53 million bpd and oil product exports of 361,863bpd last month, compared with 1.72 million bpd and 461,156 bpdin August 2009.

However, exports of upgraded crude from the Orinoco heavycrude belt rose 6.8 percent to 403,751 bpd from 377,805 bpd ayear earlier.

In July 2010, oil exports totaled 2.30 million bpd,including 302,097 bpd of oil products. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Dale Hudson)