Chinese consumers will witness the largest price hike in three years for household and personal care products as major manufacturers say they will raise prices between 5 to 15 percent due to the increasing costs of raw materials.

A bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, and a tube of toothpaste.

Stepping into a supermarket, the prices of these small items seldom catch your attention.

But not after you hear this.

He Meiqiao, Procter & Gamble Slesperson said "This used to cost 29.9 yuan each, now it's 32. That's a rise of more than two yuan."

In no time, the prices of personal care products in China have increased by an average of 10 percent.

This rise in prices represents the biggest price hike ever for personal care products in China.

Producers of household and personal care products say the costs of household chemicals and raw materials have almost doubled from a year earlier.

Wang Lijuan, Likelong Supermarket, Guangxi said "Much of this price hike is due to the increasing costs of diesel and packaging."

As a result, prices of about 50 products will rise in early April.

For some residents, the increase will not impact them much, as a 400-milliliter bottle of shampoo typically lasts a family of five about three months.

One consumer in Guangxi said "I heard about the news. But even if the prices have increased, it will not be much of a burden on me."

But not everyone agrees.

One consumer in Guangxi said "What CAN we do? We have to take showers and wash our clothes. We can't just stop buying basic necessities, right?"

Observers speculate that the unanimous price hike by major international manufacturers could result in fixed prices for personal care products in China.

Two weeks ago, Spain fined several multinational consumer goods firms a total of 50 million euros for fixing prices over the last 20 years. The companies that were levied with the hefty fine included Procter & Gamble, L'Oreal and Henkel.

(Source: CNTV.CN)