China's food industry reported profit growth in the first two months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.
Total profits of food companies with annual operating revenue of at least 20 million yuan (about $3.14 million) hit 102.07 billion yuan during the period, up 6.9% year on year, according to the (MIIT).
The sub-sector of wine, beverages and refined tea manufacturing saw total profits surge by 32.5% over the previous year to reach 51.19 billion yuan, MIIT data showed.
Bucking the trend, the agricultural and sideline food processing sector and the food manufacturing sector saw their profits down 29.4% and 12.3% year on year, respectively, according to the ministry.