BEIJING — China's plastics industry posted rising profits last year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Manufacturers of plastic products raked in total profits of 121.52 billion yuan (about $18.87 billion) last year, climbing 18.4 percent year-on-year, said the MIIT.

The sector's total operating revenue fell 1.4 percent from a year earlier to 1.89 trillion yuan.

MIIT data also shows that the output of the country's plastics industry amounted to 76.03 million tons last year, down 6.5 percent year-on-year.

In December alone, the sector's output rose 0.3 percent year-on-year to 7.75 million tons.