BEIJING - China's machinery industry is expected to see sales and production up by 15 percent this year, an official of the China Machinery Industry Federation said at a press conference Friday.

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The industry would see slower growth compared with last year, as costs of production materials continued to rise and China's currency looked set to strengthen against the US dollar, said federation vice president Cai Weici.

Last year saw record production and sales in the sector, said a statement released at the press conference.

Production rose 33.93 percent to 14.38 trillion yuan ($2.19 trillion), while sales rose 34.26 percent to 14.06 trillion yuan, the statement said.