Liquor stocks rise slightly despite plasticizer reports

China's liquor shares enjoyed slight rises during morning trade but they were the weakest of a bullish market on Friday as plasticizer reports affected the sector.

The liquor sector saw an overall rise of 1.24 percent from the previous trading when the morning session closed. But the increase was the smallest among other sectors.

Chinese stocks rallied on Friday with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 2.88 percent in the morning session to end at 2,120.84.

Kweichow Moutai's shares rose 0.3 percent, the weakest increase in the liquor sector. Jiugui Liquor's shares jumped more than 3 percent on Friday morning.

Wuliangye and Yanghe, two other premium white spirits, suspended morning trading after plasticizer reports, but resumed trading when the afternoon session opened.

A Beijing-based investment consulting firm named EC said on Thursday that nine of 11 liquor products it sent for plasticizer inspection were found to have toxic levels of the chemical.

EC bought these liquors from Moutai, Wuliangye, Yanghe and Xijiu, four high-end spirits, from regular dealers but it could not confirm the products were authentic.

The two Moutai liquors EC examined exceeded the upper limit of plasticizer content set by China's Ministry of Health (MOH), and three of four liquors of Wuliangye violated the MOH plasticizer requirements, according to EC's report.

EC said the inspection was done by a test center affiliated with Beijing Academy of Science and Technology, and EC or its employees hold no stakes in any liquor-related firms.

Moutai said on Dec. 7 that its liquors conformed to standards set by quality watchdogs, but a microblogger under the name "Shuijinghuang" posted two days later that Moutai actually had a plasticizer problem after he sent liquor samples for testing.

The Guizhou-based liquor maker reiterated in a news briefing on Wednesday that its liquor products were safe with no excessive plasticizer.

China Alcoholic Drinks Association said all liquor products nationwide contain a certain amount of plasticizer after tests across the country.

Ma Yong, a liquor industry expert from China National Food Industry Association, said at Moutai's news briefing that plasticizer poses potential risks to human bodies, but its harm is not certain.

Liquor stocks showed thawing signs on morning trading Thursday but turned to declines at close after the EC report.

The scandal in the liquor industry, which is the latest food scandal seen in recent years in China, started in early November when products of Hunan-based Jiugui Liquor were found to contain plasticizer.