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China's light industry rebounds in May

By Yu Hongyan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-07-14 16:45

Industrial output of China's light industry grew 10.4 percent year-on-year in May, 0.6 percentage points higher than April's growth rate, and the industry's total output in the first five months this year increased 8.8 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The food processing related sectors remained on the rise in May, with industrial output in agricultural products and by-products processing, food manufacturing, and the beverage sectors growing 18.2 percent, 14.7 percent, and 16.5 percent year-on-year respectively.

Furniture production grew 3.8 percent year-on-year in May, but total output in the first five months dropped 2.3 percent from the same period last year.

Toy output in the month grew 16.6 percent year-on-year, 1.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate in the first quarter, and total output of the sector rose 14 percent year-on-year during the January-May period.

Production of indoor fitness apparatus surged 58 percent year-on-year in May, 38 percentage points higher than the growth rate in the first quarter, and production in the first five months grew 30.9 percent from the same period last year.

Special Coverage: China Biz & Economic Statistics  Related readings:  China to create 3m jobs in light industry   China to support light industry, petrochemical sector  Light industry develops sharply faster than heavy industry  Light Industry: Fast food chains hungry for expansion

Hit by withering demand overseas, the home appliance sector is still in the doldrums. Only five of the 14 major kinds of appliances saw a year-on-year rise in production in May, with refrigerators, freezers, washing machines and rice cookers seeing a rise in production ranging from 0.3 percent to 6.9 percent and the output of electric water heaters jumping 16.1 percent.

Air-conditioners, electric fans, kitchen ventilators, gas stoves and gas water heaters saw output declines ranging from 19.5 percent to 38.5 percent in the same month.

But thanks to the government's plan to spur rural consumption, monthly sales of selected home appliance products rose to 2.33 million units in May, up from 880,000 units in February.