July 16, 2012

Chinese vitamin C firms face US lawsuit on pricing

Four vitamin C producers in China are battling a trial in the US for suspected price manipulation, Bloomberg reported.

Industry insiders denied the accusation Wednesday (July 11), and said that the four companies are now preparing to respond to the prosecution. A group of vitamin C buyers in the US started the case in January, claiming that Chinese vitamin C companies have conspired to fix vitamin C  prices and overcharged customers.

Brian M. Cogan, a judge with the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, said that the date for the trial has been set on November 5, according to the Bloomberg report. The four companies are China Pharmaceutical Group, Weisheng Pharmaceutical (Shijiazhuang) Co, North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp and Northeast Pharmaceutical Group, Global Times reported.