SHANGHAI - Musical instruments sales in China are estimated to exceed 40.6 billion yuan ($6.1 billion) in 2017, an industry association said Friday.

Musical instruments sales soared in recent years as more Chinese kids, particularly those in big cities, are taking up music as an enjoyable extra-curricular activity.

In the first half of the year, 253 musical instrument makers, whose sales revenues exceed 20 million yuan each, recorded a total sales of 19 billion yuan, said the China Musical Instrument Association.

In 2012, the whole year sales were 24.5 billion yuan.

In the Jan-June period, China's musical instrument exports declined slightly, but the imports grew 6.9 percent year-on-year after reductions to import duty rates, the association said at the China (Shanghai) International Musical Instrument Expo.

China has more than 640,000 musical training agencies, with the music training market exceeding 70 billion yuan last year.

The expo has become the biggest of its kind in the world. With an exhibition space of 125,000 square meters, it has attracted more than 2,000 musical instrument makers from 30 countries and regions.