BEIJING(BullionStreet): China retained it's top ranking in global gold production for the sixth year in a row with 403.05 tons in 2012.

According to China Gold Association, output last year grew by 11.66 percent a year ago and almost 100 times from 1949, when the country achieved independence from British colonialists.

China's first recorded gold production back then was at 4.07 tonnes.

Earlier, the China Gold Association said that it aims to produce between 420 and 450 tonnes of the precious metal in 2015, while consumption may reach 1,000 tonnes by then.

It attributed the increase to favorable government polices, which have put the industry on a fast track and made it a pillar industry in many of the country's gold producing areas.

The country's top 10 gold producers, including provinces of Shandong, Henan, Jiangxi, accounted for 82.71 percent of the total national output last year.

China surpassed South Africa to become the largest gold producer in 2007.

The country is currently the world's second-largest gold consumer after India, with total gold consumption at 761.05 tonnes in 2011, the association said in a report released in December