China's building material sector sees steady expansion in Jan-Oct

BEIJING -- China's building material industry registered stable growth in the first 10 months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.

Major building materials all saw an increase in their output during the period. Cement output rose 2.1 percent year-on-year to 1.97 billion tons, while the output of commercial concrete and flat glass climbed 10.6 percent and 8.9 percent from a year ago, respectively, MIIT data showed.

In the first 10 months, the sector's added value logged a year-on-year increase of 10.6 percent.

Exports of building material sector maintained a fast increase. Building materials worth 125.58 billion yuan (about $19.64 billion) were exported in the January-October period, up 13.2 percent year-on-year.

Glass exports amounted to 13.02 billion yuan from January to October, jumping by 25.7 percent from the same period a year ago, according to the ministry.