HANGZHOU - China's packaging industry had a booming year in 2010 with a gross industrial output of 1.2 trillion yuan ($183.9 billion), said a report released Thursday by the China Packaging Federation in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang province.

The packaging industry grew significantly in 2010, particularly those companies operating in export-related commodities, said Zhang Yaoquan, deputy director of the China Packaging Federation. Zhang made the remarks at the 2011 Continuous Packaging and Small-and-Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Forum.

The packaging industry did particularly well in five of China's provinces: Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu and Fujian. Shanghai's packaging enterprises also did well last year, said the report.

Packaging companies in China's Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta and Bohai Sea Region accounted for about 90 percent of the industry's gross output in China.

This development is complimentary to China's goal of rejuvenating its industrial bases in northeast China. Packaging companies in China's northeast and southwest regions are expected to see positive growth over the next few years.

However, it has been predicted by some that China's packaging industry will begin to decelerate as China readjusts its industrial infrastructure, Zhang said. Companies that consume too many resources or that do not innovate independently will be eliminated, Zhang added.