BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- China's express delivery sector saw fast growth in February, with double-digit increases in business revenue and volume, official data showed.

Delivery firms handled 2.76 billion parcels last month, up 38.7 percent year on year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Gross business revenue stood at 35 billion yuan (about 5.2 billion U.S. dollars) in February, up 21 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.

In the first two months of this year, combined business revenue rose 20.3 percent year on year to 94.7 billion yuan, while the number of parcels handled gained 21.9 percent to 7.3 billion.

The express delivery industry has been boosted by booming e-commerce in the country. Online retail sales maintained robust growth in the first two months, up 13.6 percent year on year, with physical commodity sales rising 19.5 percent, according to official data.