China's gold output grew 4.26 percent year-on-year to 282.007 tonnes in 2008, the China Gold Association (CGA) said on Tuesday.

The provinces of Shandong, Jiangxi and Henan accounted for 46.4percent of the total.

China overtook South Africa to become the world's largest gold producer in 2007, with 270.49 tonnes of gold output that year.

The CGA also reported that trading volume reached 868.39 billion yuan (US$126.96 billion) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange in 2008, up 174.84 percent from 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2009)