China's food industry grows steadily in Jan-May

China's food industry registered a steady growth in the first five months this year, official data showed.

Retail sales of grain and oil, food, beverage and tobacco and alcohol hit 816.51 billion yuan (about 118.89 billion U.S. dollars) in the period, up 9.5 percent from one year earlier, the statement said.

In the first five months, business revenue of major companies in the food industry amounted to 3.24 trillion yuan, up 5.5 percent year on year. Their profit climbed up 10.6 percent to 221.49 billion yuan.