TWO baby formula makers said today they would cut their prices after an antitrust and price-fixing investigation by government agencies.
Dumex Baby Food, a unit of French food group Danone, said today that retail prices for its main products will be cut starting tomorrow.
Domestic milk powder maker Zhejiang Beingmate Technology Industry & Trade Co also said in a stock exchange filing today it will cut its wholesale price for key products by 5 to 20 percent starting Wednesday.
The reduction cut came after Wyeth Nutrition's announcement last week that it would cut wholesale prices on its key products by an average of 11 percent, with the biggest price drop being 20 percent.
Dumex said in an email statement today that the price cut will cover all stages in the full range of Dumex's products in China and it will maintain these reduced prices over the next year.
The baby food maker said it will work closely with distributors and retailers to ensure the price drop is reflected in retail prices paid by consumers.
The anti-monopoly division at the National Development and Reform Commission last week "took notice" of initiatives taken by foreign baby formula manufacturers to reduce prices.
The investigation came among China's efforts to revitalize and consolidate the milk formula industry after a series of food safety crises, especially the melamine-tainted milk scandal that broke out in 2008, hurt the industry's reputation with consumers.
An official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said last month that China aims to create 10 large companies in the industry within two years, each with annual revenue of more than 2 billion yuan (US$326 million).