China’s cement output in the first five months hit a new high with a rise of 20.4 per cent from the previous year, said a new report on Thursday.

The Xinhua-run China Securities Journal quoted statistics published by Digital Cement, an industrial website run by the China Cement Association, that the output of cement from January to May reached 429Mt.

The year-on-year growth was the highest in five years, said the report.

The average factory price stands between 230 and 232 yuan (US$28.9) per ton, slightly higher than that of last year, indicating the return of high market demand.

According to the statistics, China’s cement output in April and May exceeded 100 million tons respectively.

As a result of the booming output, sales revenue of the cement industry in the first five months rose to 109.37 billion yuan, 27.1 percent up in the same period of last year.

The total profit also rose by a large margin as the inventory rose 9.3 percent year-on-year, a growth lower than that of the output, said China Securities Journal.