Price increases for Chinese dairies

China’s Mengniu, Yili and Sanyuan dairies will increase dairy prices by as much as 10% across a range of products this year after they had been hit by rising raw material costs. “We will raise the price of some products, mainly pasteurized milk, but the price hikes will not apply to all our products,” says Ji Xiaodong, Mengniu’s assistant spokesman. “The increases are regular price adjustments.”

However, some industry bodies have rejected the justification, pointing to the fact that raw milk prices have dropped in the last year. Rather, it may be increased labour and transport costs, sources say.

Meanwhile, Mengniu was recently forced to destroy 25 batches of milk that had been found to contain more than twice the legal limit of the carcinogen aflatoxin.