China produced 102.89 million metric tons of crude steel in January and February, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

Production volume in the two months rose 25.4% from the same period last year, when 81.62 million tons were produced, as steel mills ramped up output ahead of the higher consumption season in the months ahead.

In February alone, China produced 50.36 million tons of crude steel, up 22.5% on year and a 4.1% decline from 52.53 million tons in January.

The country also produced 61.51 million tons of iron ore in February, up 5.9% on year.

In the first two months of 2010, China's iron ore output reached 124.34 million tons, up 17.8% on year.

In February, pig iron output totaled 47.5 million tons, up 17.2% on year. In the first two months, the country produced 97.23 million tons of pig iron, up 22.3%.