BEIJING — China's light industry saw increasing production and exports in the first half of the year, official data showed.

The added value of the light industry went up 17.5 percent year-on-year in the first six months of 2021, data compiled by the National Development and Reform Commission showed.

The added value of the battery manufacturing industry surged 47.7 percent year-on-year in the January-June period, while that of home appliance manufacturing jumped 32.3 percent.

The market continued its recovery with the retail sales of 10 kinds of light industry products up 23.6 percent from a year ago to reach around 3.24 trillion yuan (about $500 billion) during the period.

Exports also posted strong growth in the first six months, with the value of major exported products in the light industry soaring 48.1 percent year-on-year to come in at $211.92 billion, the data showed.