BEIJING — Major non-ferrous metal reported faster total output growth in China last year, official data showed.

The production of 10 types of non-ferrous metal increased 6 percent year-on-year to 56.88 million tons in 2018, picking up pace from the 3-percent increase in the previous year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.

The acceleration was mainly driven by robust production of electrolytic aluminum, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of the total output. Its growth sped up significantly from 1.6 percent in 2017 to 7.4 percent last year.

The production of copper and lead increased 8 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively. But the production of zinc dropped 3.2 percent.

However, the combined profits in the non-ferrous metal industry dropped 6.1 percent year-on-year to 185.5 billion yuan ($27.65 billion), weighed down by a lackluster metal smelting and rolling sector and falling prices.