BEIJING -- China's gold output rose by 8.436 metric tons, or 3.87 percent year-on-year, to reach 226.388 metric tons during the January-August period, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said Monday.

In August alone, China produced 31.889 metric tons of gold, up from from 30.08 metric tons in July, the MITT said in a statement on its website.

The combined output value of Chinese gold producers totaled 169.1 billion yuan ($26.54 billion) in the first eight months of the year, up 23.14 percent year-on-year.

Gold producers' profits soared 41.11 percent year-on-year to 20.43 billion yuan in the first eight months, the MIIT said.

China is the world's biggest gold producer and consumer. Its gold output reached 340.88 metric tons in 2010.