North China Pharmaceutical Co (NCPC) and its vitamin C production unit Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co were ordered to pay $162.3 million in fines by a jury in Brooklyn, New York Thursday after being found guilty of price fixing, the Beijing Times reported Saturday.

Since late 2001, Chinese vitamin C manufacturers have acted in collusion to intentionally limit supply of vitamin C to the US market in order to manipulate prices, according to a lawsuit filed this month by two US companies, it said.

The case marks the first time a Chinese company has been found guilty in a trial over US antitrust claims, James Serota, one of the plaintiffs, told Bloomberg on Friday.

NCPC said the company would appeal the verdict, which it called unfair.

Global Times