BEIJING, May 2 -- China's paper-making industry reported steady expansion in terms of output, revenue and profits in the first two months of this year, industry data show.

The country's machine-made paper and paperboard output totaled 22.42 million tonnes in the period, up 11.9 percent year on year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The operating revenue of major paper-making firms rose 7.5 percent year on year to 213.55 billion yuan (about 30.05 billion U.S. dollars).

Total profits of these companies reached 6.42 billion yuan, jumping 336.7 percent from the same period of 2023.

The ministry attributed the strong recovery of the industry to lower raw material costs.