Holiday sales of Chinese retail, catering firms up 8.5%

Combined sales of retail and catering enterprises in China rose 8.5 percent year-on-year during the week-long National Day holiday ending on Oct 7, showed data from the Ministry of Commerce.

From Oct 1 to 7, the total sales of China's retail and catering firms reached 1.52 trillion yuan (about $215 billion), the ministry said in a statement on its website.

While tourism, culture and sports-related consumption maintained rapid growth, the sales of organic food, fashion clothes, smart home appliances, and new electronic devices reported dynamic performance.

Supply of daily necessities was sufficient, and the prices were generally stable during the past week, according to the ministry.