Chinese consumers will be hit by the largest price hike in three years for household and personal care products as major producers said they will raise prices by up to 15 percent due to increasing costs of raw materials and transport.

Shanghai's Metro and Lotus confirmed that they have been notified by Procter & Gamble and Unilever, two major producers of such goods, of a 5-10 percent price increase. Prices of around 50 products, including soap, washing powder and shampoo, will rise from early April, according to the two retailers. Carrefour, however, said it has not received the notice and would maintain their prices.

Domestic brands such as Guangdong Province-based Liby and Zhejiang Province-based Nice have also raised prices by 5-15 percent, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Sanya media reported.

"The costs of household chemicals have jumped from the same period of last year," Zeng Xiwen, vice president of Unilever China, told the media. "Transport costs have also gone up."

Oil prices have almost doubled from a year earlier, and those for raw materials such as vegetable oil and mineral salt have risen between 40 and 60 percent, Zeng said.

Two weeks ago, Spain fined consumer goods firms, including P&G, L'Oreal and Henkel, 50 million euros (US$69.8 million) for fixing prices over the last 20 years.

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