BEIJING — China's paper-making industry reported steady output growth in the first eight months of this year while earnings and profit dropped, official data showed.

Pulp output stood at 8.6 million metric tons in the January-August period, up 6.6 percent year-on-year, while paper output rose 1 percent to 80.84 million tons, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

In August alone, paper output climbed 1.9 percent year-on-year to 10.44 million tons.

The sector saw 38.54 billion yuan (about $5.45 billion) in profit in the first eight months, down 21.9 percent from last year.

MIIT data also showed the revenue of China's paper-making industry declined 3.5 percent year-on-year in the period.