(Yicai Global) Nov. 29 -- Shares of two Sichuan province-based baijiu distillers, Wuliangye Yibin and Luzhou Laojiao, slid today after one of them was reported to have used harsh methods to kill the competition.

Luzhou Laojiao's stock price tumbled 5 percent to CNY183.33 (USD27.80) this afternoon.

Wuliangye Yibin's shares [SHE: 000858] fell 3.2 percent to CNY254.

The general manager of Hangzhou-based Huashang Sugar Industry Tobacco & Wine was demanded by the GM of Wuliangye Yibin's Hangzhou marketing center to choose to stock only one of the two baijiu brands next year, according to a document the dealer showed to Yicai, which is Yicai Global's Chinese language sister publication. The person chose Wuliangye Yibin.

Luzhou Laojiao is becoming increasingly popular in eastern China, which is putting pressure on the rival and could be the reason behind the incident, an industry insider told Yicai Global. Since 2015, competition among Chinese distillers has been becoming more intense amid increasing consumption.

Optimizing brand management involves adjusting poorly performing businesses and some smaller distributors don't have the capacity to manage multiple brands, the GM of Wuliangye Yibin's Zhejiang province arm said to Yicai Global.

Wuliangye Yibin is acting against Sichuan's call for solidarity among local distillers and Luzhou Laojiao will file a complaint to ask the provincial government to investigate the incident, it said in a statement. In 2017, Sichuan launched a campaign to encourage regional distillers to cooperate to promote locally produced beverages across China.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine