A citizen selects vegetables at a supermarket in Changchun city, Northeast China's Jilin province, July 8, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

BEIJING - China's food industry remained generally stable in the first half of the year, data by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

Retail sales of grain, oil and food reached 745.35 billion yuan (about $107.85 billion), up 12.9 percent from a year ago. Sales of alcohol and tobacco stood at 172.61 billion yuan during the period, down 3.1 percent year on year.

In June alone, the value-added industrial output of food manufacturers saw an increase of 1.3 percent year on year, while alcohol, beverage and refined tea manufacturers registered the same percentage growth.

During the first half, profits of food companies with annual operating revenue of more than 20 million yuan totaled 270.6 billion yuan, rising 3.9 percent year on year.