SHANGHAI (Reuters – China has shipped 342.8 million smartphones in 2021 to consumers at home, an increase of 15.9% from last year according to Tuesday’s government data. It is a sign that the sector is recovering from the blow it suffered in the beginning stages of the COVID-19 disaster.

However, the annual shipments failed to reach pre-pandemic levels.

The industry’s 296-million-mark was reached in 2020. However, shipments remained lower than 2019, which stood at 372 million according to data from China Academy of Information Communications, a government-backed thinktank.

China exported 32.7 million smartphones in China last month. This is an increase of 29.6% from the year before.

As a result of a shortage in chips and restraints to supply chains, phone brands and hardware companies had difficulty sourcing components in 2021.

This has made it difficult for Chinese smartphone manufacturers to grow, as customers delay updating their phones.

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:), China’s only foreign-owned brand, is largely ignoring this trend through 2021.

For the third quarter in 2021, revenue rose 83% from Greater China which encompasses Taiwan and Hong Kong.