BEIJING — China's iron and steel industry reported business revenue growth of 8.9 percent year-on-year in the first eight months, official data showed.

Business revenue hit 5.58 trillion yuan (about $788.7 billion) in the first eight months, according to a statement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

From January to September, the output of cast iron reached 612 million tons, up 6.3 percent year-on-year and that of crude steel grew 8.4 percent from one year earlier to 748 million tons.

During the period, rolled steel output in the country climbed 10.6 percent year-on-year to 909 million tons.

Steel exports fell 5 percent to about 50.3 million tons, whereas imports saw a decrease of 12.2 percent to hit 8.75 million tons in the first three quarters.