China Tobacco Industry Pays 605 Bln Yuan in Taxes in 2010

China's tobacco industry paid 604.55 billion yuan (93 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes last year, up 16.95 percent year on year, the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) said Tuesday.

Also, the industry handed over 498.85 billion yuan in profits to the government in 2010, up 21.2 percent from one year earlier, said the head of the STMA, Jiang Chengkang.

Further, tobacco growers' incomes also rose steadily during the past five years, with household incomes increasing to 25,100 yuan in 2010 from 5,700 yuan in 2006.

China spent 36.6 billion yuan on infrastructure construction in tobacco-growing regions during the past five years, Jiang said.