As the price of imported milk powders continued to soar, the price of domestic brands also started to increase recently, the Chongqing Times reported Thursday.

The price of Heilongjiang Wondersun Dairy Co's infant formula increased to 218 yuan from 184 yuan per 900g, while other domestic brands also saw different levels of price rises, according to the newspaper.

An industry insider told the reporter that domestic milk powder brands started to improve their raw material quality and product standards after the melamine contamination scandals. The price rises are largely due to increasing production costs, the newspaper reported.

"The market price decision is in the hands of foreign milk powder producers because consumers have low confidence in domestic products," the source said.

Foreign brands like Wyeth, Newfresh and Abbott raised milk powder prices again at the end of July. According to consumer Ms Zhang, it's the fourth time that foreign formula brands have raised prices this year, the newspaper said.

Ms Song, a mother of a four-month-old infant, spends 1,600 yuan on formula each month. "I won't change to a domestic brand as long as the price rise of foreign brands is acceptable," she said. "It's all for the baby's health and safety concerns."

A supermarket staff member told the reporter that no matter how much foreign brands raised their prices, they were always more favorable than domestic brands. "We can usually sell 30 to 40 jars of imported formula per day while domestic products get the cold shoulder from consumers all the time," the newspaper reported.