China's catering retail sales value reached 524.1 billion yuan (about 63.4 billion US dollars) in the first three quarters of 2004, up 22.8 percent over the same period last year.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the increase rate is 13.4 percentage points higher than the same period of 2003, the People's Daily reported on Wednesday.

Figures from the ministry indicate that in the first three quarters, China's catering retail sales accounted for 13.6 percent of the total retail sales value of consumer goods.

The ministry said that in September alone, China's catering industry realized 68 billion yuan (8.23 billion US dollars) in retail sales, up 12.2 percent over August and 19 percent over September of 2003.

Source: Xinhua