Output of major Chinese Baijiu distilleries up 4.7 pct in Q1

BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Major Chinese Baijiu (a type of distilled spirit) manufacturers saw their output rise 4.7 percent year on year to top 2.02 million kiloliters in the first quarter of the year (Q1), official data showed.

The output of major breweries stood at 8.16 million kiloliters in Q1, edging down 1.5 percent from one year earlier, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Major wine-makers saw their output drop 31.1 percent year on year to 51,000 kiloliters in the same period.

Major alcohol companies are those with annual operating revenue of at least 20 million yuan (3.02 million U.S. dollars).

Last year, China's alcohol-making sector served as a leading profit contributor to the country's light industry, with the total profits of major companies hitting 194.9 billion yuan, earlier data showed.