MANILA - The Christmas shopping rush starts earlier for Filipinos working overseas and the government on Wednesday issued reminders to make sure balikbayan boxes containing gifts will arrive on schedule.

September is a good time to send gift boxes since these usually take two to three months to ship depending on the distance, according to the Department of Trade and Industry.

Shipping fees from the United States should cost around $60 to $85 per package when sending to Luzon and $70 to $100 when sending to the Visayas and Mindanao, it said.

The DTI said it received 57 complaints of undelivered packages and one complaint over a missing package this year.

The head of the DTI's trade and enforcement bureau, Ferdie Manfoste, also listed items that overseas Filipinos should avoid sending via balikbayan box: firearms, bullets, illegal drugs, pornographic materials, pirated DVDs, plants and seeds, fresh food and items in large quantities which could be misconstrued as for sale.