The Municipal Bureau of Statistics recently released the major economic indicators for Bazhong, Sichuan province, for the first two months of this year.

The added value of large-scale industries in the city increased by 8.0% year-on-year, while the total retail sales of consumer goods rose by 9.0%. Additionally, fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) in the city saw a year-on-year growth of 9.7%. Economic operation has also maintained a steady momentum, continuing the trend of recovery and improvement.

Throughout January and February, the added value of large-scale industries in the city grew by 8.0%. Among the 33 major industries with production and operation activities, 22 industries experienced an increase in added value. Notably, the coal mining industry saw an increase in value of 73.7%, followed by the rubber and plastic products industry at 62.7%, agricultural and sideline food processing industry at 37.0%, computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry at 36.7%, wood processing industry at 22.8%, and the alcohol, beverage, and refined tea manufacturing industry at 1.2%. In terms of the production of major industrial products, liquor increased by 72.4%, graphite and carbon products by 54.1%, and cement by 4.3%.

The holiday season drove an uptick in service consumption, contributing to the continued stable recovery of the consumer market. The total retail sales of consumer goods in the city reached 10.41 billion yuan ($1.44 billion), marking a 9.0% year-on-year increase. Particularly during the Chinese New Year holiday, service consumption continued to rise. This was evidenced by the 1.94 billion yuan in catering revenue, reflecting a 10.9% year-on-year increase, and 84.79 billion yuan in retail sales of goods, an 8.6% increase.

Looking at the sales of popular goods, the retail sales of petroleum and related products increased by 22.9% year-on-year, while grain and oil, food, beverages, and tobacco products collectively grew by 17.2%. Additionally, daily necessities increased by 16.3%, household appliances and audio-visual equipment by 14.8%, and clothing, shoes, hats, and textiles by 10.0%. Sales of traditional Chinese and Western medicines also increased by 1.7%.

Fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) in Bazhong experienced a 9.7% year-on-year growth. By industry, investment in the primary industry increased by 5.9% year-on-year, while investment in the secondary industry decreased by 7.1% and investment in the tertiary industry increased by 15.6%.