Tatua also performed well when stacked up against New Zealand's big business players, retaining its rank of 129th in the Deloitte Top 200, scoring 1 per cent revenue growth taking its 2014 result to $230.9 million; $10.17 million of that was profit - twice as good as last year.
TAIWAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Apple exports to Taiwan have already jumped by 210 per cent - with still a month to go before the first anniversary of the Taiwan FTA.
Overall, exports are up by 20 per cent with dairy (some $352 million) up by 37 per cent overall.
FTA negotiator Charles Finny can take a bow for a successful deal.
SOUTH KOREAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
Despite a mixed reaction back home, securing a free trade agreement with South Korea was a big deal for New Zealand agriculture and one of the Government's crowning achievements of 2014.
Korea is a major market for New Zealand - they're our sixth largest trading partner and two-way trade totalled $4 billion in the past year. But that trade came at a cost to Kiwi exporters of $229 million (tariffs) each year through Korea - with butter, kiwifruit and beef the hardest hit.
Those tariffs will be reduced by $65 million in the first year - with a near total phase out across major sectors to take place over a "reasonable period of time".
MAORI AGRIBUSINESS
This year was an excellent year for our Maori companies " particularly in the agriculture space. What's really exciting is the potential - with Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy projecting Maori agribusiness to be worth as much as $6.4 billion by 2025. Celebrating business success isn't a natural concept for Maori businesses and it is generally frowned upon to talk publicly about it - Kaore te kumara e whaakii ana tana reka (The kumara does not say how sweet he is).
Despite this, a number of our most prominent Maori businesses agreed to be included in the Deloitte Top 200 - revealing impressive success in agriculture and showing real promise to serve as a model for other businesses in the Maori economy.
AUSTRALIA/CHINA FREE TRADE DEAL
Park the worries about whether Australia has secured a better deal than New Zealand when it comes to the respective bilateral free trade agreements.
What's important is the renewed competitive pressure that New Zealand will find in the Chinese market - particularly for dairy.
Australia is also in the sights of Chinese players who want to buy farmland and build new capacity there.
DAIRY PRICES
After a season of record highs last year, farmers will be feeling the pinch this Christmas following a tumultuous year on global dairy markets. With Fonterra signalling a final payout of $4.70/kgMS, prices have almost halved from the $8.40/kgMS achieved last year - a reduction of $6.1 billion for the New Zealand economy.
Expectations for the final payout level have been slashed consistently throughout the year, as weaker demand from China combined with ballooning supply has lowered the prices paid at the Global Dairy Trade auction. If markets stabilise, farmers should be able to ride out a difficult season but continued low prices could stoke larger structural changes in the dairy industry.
This week's slight tick up in the GDT price is hopefully a good sign for the future.
MEAT INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURE
It hasn't been a great year for New Zealand's major meat companies and demand for reform within the sector could finally be reaching a head.
Debate has raged for years over whether to regulate the meat inspection system as the pressure comes on food security systems while using the opportunity to gain new efficiencies and generate growth in a stagnant sector.
Sir Henry van der Hayden described the current situation as reminiscent of dairy 15 years ago, describing the market opportunity as "substantial" and calling on the red met sector to "set its sights on being a second national champion".
WOOL LEVY
For the first time since it was abolished in 2009, farmers this year voted whether to reintroduce a wool levy to fund a representative body for the industry.
After a lengthy and costly campaign, a convincing 57 per cent of farmers voted against the initiative " which would have raised about $4.7 million for the promotion and research of wool.
When the levy was originally abolished, farmers felt they weren't getting value for money from their contributions but the contention from some in the industry has been that the loss of a representative voice has reduced the opportunity to capitalise on collective market opportunities.
