China's chemical sector profit grows in 2013

China's chemical sector saw its profits increase 12.2 percent year on year to 434 billion yuan (71.06 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013, data from the country's top economic planner showed. The sector's added value also grew by 12.2 percent year on year, 0.1 percentage points higher than that of 2012, according to data released Wednesday by the National Development and Reform Commission. Bucking the trend, profits from the country's fertilizer makers totaled 38.5 billion yuan, down 19.2 percent from the previous year. In 2013, China produced 58.37 million tonnes of plastics in primary forms, up 11 percent from the previous year. It produced 4.09 million tonnes of synthetic rubber in 2013, up 6.2 percent year on year, and 37.39 million tonnes of synthetic fiber, a 7.1 percent year-on-year rise. The output of chemical fertilizer gained 4.9 percent year on year to 71.54 million tonnes in 2013, while pesticides amounted to 3.19 million tonnes, up 1.6 percent from the previous year. Among major chemical products, prices of soda ash increased steadily against the market's falling trend in 2013.