BEIJING - Sales in China's pharmaceutical distribution industry totaled 942.6 billion yuan ($149.62 billion) in 2011, an increase of 23 percent from the previous year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Thursday.

Of the total, drug sales on the retail market reached 188.5 billion yuan in 2011, featuring a stable annual growth rate of around 20 percent over the past years, the ministry said.

The main business revenues of major pharmaceutical distribution companies grew 23 percent year on year to 656.8 billion yuan, while their profits totaled 15.2 billion yuan, up 17 percent.

Of the seven pharmaceutical categories, drug sales accounted for the largest share, or 76.2 percent, followed by Chinese patent medicine sales (15.2 percent), Chinese medical herbal sales (2.9 percent) and medical equipment sales (2.7 percent).

Meanwhile, sales of basic medicines grew fast over the past year, with sales of basic medicine wholesalers up 24 percent from a year earlier to 58.3 billion yuan. The rise was four percentage points higher than that of the previous year.

Rural medicine demand continued to rise last year. Pharmaceutical sales in rural areas expanded 27 percent year on year to 146.1 billion yuan, compared to the 23-percent increase seen in the previous year.

By the end of 2010, the country had 13,500 drug wholesalers and 399,000 drugstores, according to the ministry.