Australian vitamins get 'energy boost'

Booming Chinese demand for foreign-produced vitamins and supplements has helped an Australian company triple its share price in the past year and prompted another to explore a possible sale.

Vitamin and dietary supplement sales almost doubled in the past five years in China, jumping 12 percent to 100.1 billion yuan ($15.7 billion) in 2014, according to market researcher Euromonitor International.

Blackmores Ltd said sales to Chinese and other Asian buyers accounted for A$150 million ($105.8 million), or almost one-third of annual revenue, in the year ended June 30.