BEIJING(BullionStreet): World's largest gold producer China announced plans to raise gold production by 25 percent to 450 tons by the end of 2015.

According to country's Industry and Information Technology ministry, the consumption is likely to exceed 1,000 tons by the end of 2015.

The ministry said by the end of 2015, China is likely to have gold reserves of 8,000-9,000 tons, an increase of 20% from 2010, it said, without specifying if these were state reserves.

China aims to produce 1,900 to 2,100 tonnes of gold between 2011 and 2015, up more than 30 percent from the preceding five years.

The ministry also forecast a 'huge amount of room' for the industry's development due to gold's safe-haven and wealth-preserving properties.

China is already the main consumer of a range of commodities, including copper, coal and iron ore, and the world's second-largest gold consumer after India has to import large quantities of bullion to satisfy domestic demand.

China has tried to speed up industry consolidation, aiming to reduce the number of gold producers in the country to 600 companies by the end of 2015 from 700 in the 2006-2010 period, the ministry said.

The amount of gold produced by the top 10 gold companies will rise to 260 tons by the end of 2015 from 100 tons in 2010, it said.