LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Beijing has given no

official timeframe for a decision in its anti-dumping

investigation on European Union brandy, Remy Cointreau's chief

financial officer said on Wednesday, after top cognac makers

attended a hearing on the issue last week.

China announced a probe into whether EU brandy makers were

selling their product in China at below-market rates in January,

weighing on sentiment for cognac producers like Remy as

investors fear it could result in the imposition of tariffs.

Representatives of the industry, which say the probe is

linked to a broader trade row rather than the liquor market,

attended a hearing in Beijing last week - their first chance to

defend themselves against the allegations in person.

Remy's CFO Luca Marotta told analysts on a first-quarter

sales call that China's Commerce Ministry had not given any

official communication regarding the timing of its decision

after the hearing.

The company makes some 70% of its sales from cognac, with

China one of its largest markets for the brandy, and its most

profitable.

Asked whether the group was taking any steps to mitigate the

impact of potential tariffs, such as shipping product to China

ahead of time, Marotta said it was staying calm and continuing

as normal.

"So far the investigation didn't affect consumer tastes or

the essence of the business, so we are not changing the

operation to try and anticipate, or offset, in an extraordinary

way, the... impact," he said.

He added that it was also not possible to say whether Remy

would look to pass the costs of higher tariffs onto consumers,

only that the company was prepared to react if they were

imposed.

The French cognac industry makes up almost all of China's EU

brandy imports. Other affected players include Pernod Ricard

and LVMH.