China's industrial production grew 16.6 percent in April from the same month last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday.

An NBS monthly report said that the added value of China's large -and medium-sized industrial enterprises reached 682 billion yuan (US$85.25 billion) in April.

The output of textile industry grew 13.1 percent and that of raw chemical materials and chemical products rose 16.9 percent.

The output of nonmetal mineral products and the smelting and pressing of ferrous metals grew 20.7 percent and 14.7 percent respectively in April.

In terms of products, the output of coal went up by 18.9 percent, crude oil, up 2.6 percent and electricity, up 11.2 percent.

The output of pig iron, crude steel and steel rose 17.4 percent, 19 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively, the NBS said.

The output of autos grew 21.4 percent, with that of sedans increasing 43.8 percent.

The value of goods for export delivered by large -and medium-sized enterprises witnessed a 22.4-percent growth in April to 473.3 billion yuan (US$59 billion).

The sales ratio of industrial goods increased by 0.19 percentage points year-on-year to 98 percent.

Large -and medium-sized enterprises comprise all state-owned ones and non-state owned ones whose annual sales exceed 5 million yuan (US$625,000).

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2006)