BEIJING - China's gold output grew by 5.18 tons, or 3.25 percent year-on-year to 164.42 tons during the first half of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Friday.

In June alone, the country produced 32.39 tons of gold, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

The combined output value of Chinese gold producers amounted to 119.54 billion yuan ($18.55 billion) during the first half, up 23.37 percent from a year earlier.

The gold producers' first-half profits jumped 34.19 percent year-on-year to 13.76 billion yuan, the statement said.

China became the world's biggest gold producer in 2007. Its gold output reached 340.88 tons in 2010.