(Yicai Global) Dec. 14 -- US healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories will stop selling baby formula in the Chinese mainland by next year amid stiff competition, shifting its focus to medical nutrition instead.

Abbott will gradually stop making and selling baby formula under the Eleva, PediaSure, and Similac brands as well as the sub-brands of Total Comfort and NeoSure, by 2023, the Chicago-based firm's Shanghai trading arm said on WeChat today.

“Consumer demand for babies' and children’s nutritional products is changing,” it said, “so we have decided to focus more on the growing medical nutrition business.”

Abbott had a 6.2 percent share of China's formula market in 2019, worth about CNY5 billion (USD719 million), but it was not in the top 10 as of this September, according to figures from market intelligence firm Nielsen.

In February, Abbott recalled batches of products in the Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare series produced by its Sturgis plant in Michigan, following the death of a baby that had consumed products contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii and Salmonella Newport, which can cause meningitis or sepsis. 

Consumers in China can buy Eleva, PediaSure, and Similac products online and offline with customer service, Abbott said. After the withdrawal, the company's cross-border e-commerce platform will continue operating.

Prices of Eleva, Similac, and Similac Total Comfort baby formulas range from CNY300 to CNY400 (USD43 to USD58) per can on JD.com with sales of more than one million cans for each brand. Sales of NeoSure, a nutrient-enriched formula for babies who were born prematurely, tally 200,000 units.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi