BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- China's light industry saw its output grow slower in the first five months as sluggish demands both at home and abroad weighed down production.

The output of major light industry enterprises totaled 6.69 trillion yuan (1.06 billion U.S. dollars) in the Jan.-May period, an increase of 18.4 percent from a year earlier, showed data with National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the nation's top economic planner.

But the rise was down 1.6 and 11.3 percentage points, respectively, from those recorded in Jan.-April period and the same period last year.

The NDRC said the increase was supported by vigorous growth in farm and sideline products processing, food manufacturing, brewing and soft-drinks manufacturing, which amounted to 44.6 percent of the sector's output.

In May, light industry output rose 15.7 percent year-on-year to 1.48 trillion yuan, 1.2 percentage points lower than growth in April.