June 18, 2005

China's vitamin C producers urged to contest antitrust lawsuits together  

China's largest vitamin C manufacturer, Shijiachuang Pharmaceutical Group Co said that Chinese manufacturers of the vitamin must come together to contest antitrust lawsuits filed by foreign buyers against them, Chinese press reported recently. The lawsuits filed by companies and individuals in the United States were served on the six largest manufacturers of vitamin C in China.

The Chinese producers allegedly worked together to control prices and export volumes of vitamin C to the US and other countries since December 2001, according to arguments by some US purchasers. This allegedly resulted in higher buying prices and losses suffered by buyers in the US.

In response, a sales manager from a major Chinese producer claimed that their vitamin C prices were actually lower than that of foreign major manufacturers and considered the allegations as "unfair".

The press report also said that the latest industry data showed the average export price of China-made vitamin C sold in the US was US$4.57/kg compared with the global average of US$4.63/kg. Chinese manufacturers produced more than 76,000 tonnes of bulk vitamin C last year, accounting for more than 70 percent of the world's supply. Nearly 85 percent of China-made bulk vitamin C is sold overseas.