Pricing crackdown sees Japanese baby formula firm retreat from China

Japan’s Meiji Holdings Co has said it will pull out of China’s baby formula market — the first international firm to retreat from the market following a pricing crackdown and as Beijing moves to help local firms compete with foreign rivals.

China is a magnet for foreign infant milk formula makers, with the €9bn market expected to double by 2017. However, foreign firms have come under pressure amid a crackdown on pricing and as authorities look to consolidate the fragmented dairy sector.

Meiji said that it could no longer stay in the market due to intensifying competition as well as the rising cost of its imported milk source from Australia.