BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- China produced 9.4 million liquid crystal display (LCD) TV sets in the first eight months of this year, up 77.1 percent from a year ago, according to the Ministry of Information Industry.

In the Jan.-August period, one out of five color TV sets made in the country was an LCD set, while the model accounted for only 10.8 percent of the total output in the same period of last year.

Price cuts spurred sales of flat-screen models, with LCD sets and plasma screen sets taking a 50 percent share of the domestic market and 90 percent of the sales in big cities.

LCD sets were gaining popularity fast, plasma screen sets continued to make inroads despite the stiffer price tag, while rear-projection TVs were fading out of the market, said analysts with the ministry.

As the world's No. 1 color TV producer, China accounted for more than 50 percent of the world's total output, with both sales and exports maintaining double digit growth in recent years.