China produced 36.96 million tonnes of 10 major nonferrous metals in 2012, up 7.5 percent year on year, the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNIA) said Friday.

The output growth rate for nonferrous metals was 2.3 percentage points lower than the previous year, CNIA said.

Jia Mingxing, vice chairman of the association, said the combined profits of nonferrous enterprises with annual revenues of more than 20 million yuan ($3.22 million) reached 166.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year decline of 16.3 percent.

The material processing sector saw rising profits of 75.4 billion yuan, while mining and refining enterprises saw drops in profits, Jia said.

He said the industry is still facing challenges in adjusting its structure, including pressure regarding environmental protection, energy conservation, resource guarantees and excess production capacity.

The 10 major nonferrous metals monitored in China refer to copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, nickel, tin, antimony, magnesium, titanium and mercury.