BEIJING - China's postal industry registered higher revenue and business volume in the first four months of this year, despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, official data showed.

From January to April, the business revenue of the sector totaled 309.02 billion yuan ($43.56 billion), up 5.4 percent year-on-year, according to a statement released by the State Post Bureau.

The industry's business volume rose 14 percent from the same period last year to 510.93 billion yuan in the first four months, the statement said.

The sector accelerated its pace of growth in April, with the business revenue and volume surging 18.5 percent and 31.1 percent year-on-year, respectively, compared with the 13.4-percent business revenue expansion and 23.8-percent business volume increase in March.

The express delivery sector, the backbone of the postal service, also reported expansion in the first four months, as courier firms made 19.03 billion deliveries, up 11.5 percent year-on-year.

The total business revenue of these firms registered a 5.6-percent yearly growth to 225.49 billion yuan in the period.