BEIJING — China's paper-making industry saw steady output growth in the first 10 months of the year while earnings and profits dropped, official data showed.

Paper output rose 3.3 percent year-on-year to 103.46 million tonnes in the January-October period, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

In October alone, paper output climbed 7.9 percent year-on-year to 10.71 million tonnes.

The sector saw 50.62 billion yuan ($7.22 billion) in profit in the first 10 months, down 17 percent from the previous year.

MIIT data also showed the revenue of China's paper-making industry declined 3 percent year-on-year in the period.