China's light industry reported increased revenues and profits in the first four months of this year, thanks to a series of favorable measures aimed at expanding and upgrading domestic consumption.
In January-April, the total operating revenue of light industrial enterprises above the designated size in the country reached 7.35 trillion yuan (about 1.02 trillion U.S. dollars), marking a 4.9 percent increase year on year, according to the China National Light Industry Council. During the same period, these companies earned 419.06 billion yuan in profits, up 3.8 percent from a year ago.
The council pointed out that those obvious growths in the light industry come from the boosted consumption brought by the expanding scope of the consumer products under trade-in programs.
Data showed that from January to April, over 34 million consumers participated in the trade-in program for home appliances, buying a total of 51 million units of 12 appliance categories and generating 174.5 billion yuan in sales. The added value of the home appliance industry increased by 8.2 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, the output of washing machines, air conditioners, and water dispensers rose by 10.9 percent, 7.2 percent, and 7 percent, respectively, year on year. Retail furniture sales also increased by 20.2 percent over the same period last year.
Exports in the sector reached 293.43 billion U.S. dollars, increasing 0.8 percent year on year in the first four months. Specifically, household appliance exports stood at 42.97 billion U.S. dollars, jumping 11.2 percent compared to last year.
For daily chemical products, it rose 19.2 percent year on year to 29.55 billion U.S. dollars. In addition, processed food exports amounted to 12.97 billion U.S. dollars, increasing 8.2 percent from a year earlier.
China's light industry reports revenue, profit growth in first four months
