BEIJING — China's light industry registered higher profits but lower revenue in 2020 with the sector's production and operation gradually recovering, official data showed.

Some 108,700 companies with annual revenue of over 20 million yuan (about $3.09 million) raked in 1.33 trillion yuan in profits last year, up 3.6 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The operating revenue of these companies totaled 19.47 trillion yuan in 2020, dropping 1.7 percent from a year ago. The decline in revenue narrowed month by month with the sector's overall operation continuing to improve, the MIIT noted.

MIIT data also showed the value-added industrial output of the sector dipped 0.8 percent year-on-year in 2020.

Exports of the sector's eight major products stood at $362.1 billion last year, representing an increase of 7 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.