French spirits makers' shares ease as China spares major producers from duties

(Reuters) -Shares of French spirits makers regained some ground on Friday after falling in early trading, as China spared major cognac producers from new duties on EU brandy, provided they sell at a minimum price.

Pernod Ricard's shares were down 0.5% while Remy Cointreau was 0.3% lower by 1130 GMT, after falling as much as 4.4% and 6.8% respectively earlier in the session. LVMH, owner of Hennessy, fell 1.4%.

China's ruling is good news for the French cognac industry because it means there will be no anti-dumping duties for all those companies that stick to their minimum import price commitments, three industry sources told Reuters.

Remy Cointreau and Pernod Ricard said in statements on Friday that they had agreed with Chinese authorities on a minimum import price to avoid duties.

Both companies said the agreement did not constitute an acknowledgment of dumping practices.

China will impose duties of up to 34.9% to brandy companies exporting from the EU and not respecting the price commitments for a period of five years starting from Saturday.

The ruling follows an investigation into European brandy, most of it cognac from France.

(Reporting by Mathias de Rozario in Gdansk, additional reporting from Jakob Van Calster; editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)