John Key has pulled out of a Beijing meet-and-greet session for NZ dairy companies and their local business partners after a dinner invite from the Chinese President.

Dairy pervades the economy and the cultural landscape - our obsession with flat whites, free milk in schools and even our political scandals, as witnessed last week.

Asian consumers increasingly viewing health supplements as "an investment rather than an expense" are driving growth in New Zealand's natural products industry.

New Zealand manufacturing activity expanded for an 18th straight month in February with signs a buoyant economy is creating jobs.

Fonterra says it has accepted charges laid against it by the Ministry for Primary Industries over events that led to last year's recall of whey protein concentrate.

A string of National Party high-flyers have been entertained by the milk exporter at the centre of a conflict of interest row involving Justice Minister Judith Collins

New Zealand household products company ecostore has launched a legal challenge to protect its intellectual property in the Chinese market.

Fonterra has extended sales of its infant formula brand to two more major Chinese cities as it pushes to secure a share of the world's fastest growing baby milk market.

Six dead babies - that's what it took to create a whole new market segment for New Zealand's dairy industry.

New Zealand commodity prices rose to a record in February, as cheese prices surged to a six-year high.

New Zealand's terms of trade rose to a 40-year high for the second straight quarter in the final three months of 2013 as import prices fell.

Infant formula exporters are on edge before an audit of local manufacturing facilities by Chinese officials next month.

How do you stop truckloads of unsaleable food from going to the dump - and turn it into something useful? Put a few thousand piggies in the middle.

Strong demand for New Zealand's main commodity exports has prompted the Ministry for Primary Industry to revise up its revenue forecast by $4.9 billion to $36.5 billion.

Forecasts for exports of dairy products, meat and forestry have been raised by the Ministry for Primary Industries citing growing demand and limited supplies.

Dairy product prices recorded their biggest drop since early November in the latest global auction, with the volume sold falling to an eight-month low.

Imagine you own a business. Would you be happy selling 46 per cent of your top product to just one buyer? That is how New Zealand sells its milk powder to China.

Westpac has revised up its NZ growth forecast for 2014 to 4.2% and expects the Kiwi dollar to remain high against the US and Aussie dollars.

Australian supermarkets are dropping New Zealand-made products even if an alternative cannot be sourced locally, producers say, as concerns increase about whether the patriotic shut-out on foreign goods could expand to more product lines.