A shopper buys Haitian soy sauce at a supermarket in Xiangyang, Hubei province. (Photo: Xinhua)

BEIJING -- China's major food processing companies recorded combined profits of 320.39 billion yuan ($46.84 billion) in the first seven months of 2020, up 7.5 percent year-on-year, according to official data.

Profit growth at these enterprises, whose annual revenues exceed 20 million yuan from their main operations, was in contrast to an 8.1 percent profit decline for the country's major industrial enterprises, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

A breakdown of the data showed agricultural and food product processors saw their combined profits surge 20.1 percent from one year earlier, while combined profits of liquor, beverage and tea manufacturers fell 1 percent.

Sales of grain, oil and other food products from the major food companies rose 12 percent year-on-year during the period, while beverage sales climbed 10.5 percent from one year earlier, according to the MIIT.