Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd.

Meiji announced on the 18th that it will raise prices on a total of 14 products, including the chocolate snacks Takenoko no Sato and Kinoko no Yama. Of these, shipping prices for a total of 11 chocolate and snack products will be raised by approximately 3 to 8 percent starting November 1.

Japan's Meiji Holdings is selling its dairy and B2B units in China to Shanghai AustAsia Food. The deal covers Meiji's drinking milk and yogurt operations, including full ownership of its production sites in Tianjin and Suzhou, and is valued at up to 320 million yuan, or 47.2 million dollars. Meiji already holds a 15.85 percent stake in AustAsia Group, the parent company of the buyer, and said it appointed external experts to ensure fairness and transparency. The transaction excludes the Guangzhou manufacturing plant and certain yogurt brands, with Meiji retaining related intellectual property. The sale is expected to close by the end of the year, and Meiji plans to redirect resources toward other China operations such as chocolate.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission has raided six major ice cream makers on suspicion of price fixing. The companies—Meiji Co., Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Morinaga & Co., Lotte Co., Ezaki Glico Co., and Akagi Nyugo Co.—issued statements confirming the raids and pledging cooperation. Japanese media reported that top managers coordinated over several years to raise ice cream prices by 10 yen, or about 6 U.S. cents, and timed the hikes together. The commission has not commented on the case, but its website includes an example of an ice cream maker refusing to supply retailers that did not accept a suggested price.