In April, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 934.32 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.8 percent.

In terms of different regions, the retail sales of consumer goods in urban areas was 632.96 billion yuan, rose by 13.9 percent year-on-year; that of at and below the county level achieved 301.36 billion yuan, up by 16.7 percent.

In terms of different industries, the retail sales of wholesale and retail trades was 789.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 14.4 percent; that of accommodation and catering industry totaled 132.32 billion yuan, up by 17.9 percent; that of other industries was 12.5 billion yuan, up by 3.1 percent.

In terms of different commodity categories, the retail sales above designated size of wholesale and retail trades, divided by foodstuff, clothing and utilized commodities increased 9.2, 13.9 and 9.7 percent respectively. Of which, the retail sales for grain and oil promoted 4.8 percent; that of meat, poultry and eggs surged 6.5 percent; that of garments went up 14.0 percent; that of cultural and offices appliances rose 1.9 percent; that of sports and entertainment supplies boomed 5.0 percent; that of commodities shot up by 13.7 percent; that of household appliances and AV equipments came up 0.6 percent; that of furniture was up by 22.8 percent; that of cosmetics jumped 18.2 percent; that of gold, silver, and jewelry ballooned 10.4 percent; that of automobiles rose by 18.5 percent; that of petroleum and related products grew 0.3 percent; and that of building and decoration materials increased 10.8 percent, while that of telecommunication equipments declined 8.4 percent.

The total retail sales of consumer goods hit 3,874.12 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.0 percent.

(National Bureau of Statistics May 14, 2009)