China forestry sector output totals $195 bln

China forestry sector output totals $195 bln, up 13% year on year

TIANJIN, June 28, 2009 (Xinhua) -- Production by China's forestry industry rose 13 percent last year to 1.33 trillion yuan (194.7 billion U.S. dollars), a senior forestry official told a conference that ended Sunday.

Foreign trade of forest products was 70 billion U.S. dollars, 18 percent of the world's total and ranked second after the United States, said Li Yucai, deputy director of the State Forestry Administration.

Production of rosin, lumber, bamboo products, fabricated boards and furniture ranked first in the world last year, Li told an international conference for bio-economy in Tianjin.

Li said some 60 million people in China were employed in the industry.

As of the end of 2008, there were 709 national forest parks that had 250 million visitors.