BEIJING - Delivery services in China's rural areas recorded a solid expansion in the first eight months of this year, official data showed.

In the January-August period, the delivery industry handled over 28 billion parcels in rural areas, a jump of more than 30 percent from a year earlier, according to the State Post Bureau.

The parcels included farm produce bound for the urban market and industrial products to be sold in rural areas. These products were valued at 1.4 trillion yuan (about $215.87 billion).

To date, postal services are available in all rural towns in China, while delivery services cover 98 percent of rural towns, the bureau said.