The cross-border tourism trade from mainland China is a big part of the retail scene in Hong Kong.

Fonterra's record farmgate milk price forecast may have to come back slightly after international dairy prices fell again at last night's dairy auction, but the decline should not detract from what has been a stellar season for the sector.

Dairy product prices have kept falling in the latest overnight, falling 2.6 per cent to 14-month low, paced by whole milk powder.

Fonterra has come to a compelling realisation it will need to develop "Chinese feet".

Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings has centralised control of the company's Chinese farming hubs into a new standalone business unit to make faster progress growing its milk pools in China.

A judge who fined Fonterra $300,000 over the events leading to last year's botulism scare says New Zealand's reputation as an exporter was "shaken" by the incident.

Fonterra Australia has been selected as the preferred supplier to process Woolworths "Own Brand'' milk in Victoria for the next 10 years

A substantially lower payout from Fonterra for 2014/15 looks likely after international dairy prices dropped sharply at yesterday's international dairy auction, economists said.

Fonterra's farmer members will be offered two opportunities to lock in the price paid for a percentage of their milk in the 2014/15 season.

Fonterra has posted a 53pc drop in interim net profit as high dairy commodity prices hit the dairy co-op's margins.

Fonterra's offices in Beijing have a room with walls made of red glass where the business is done.

Fonterra's boss says Govt ministers mustn't be put off meeting officials in China in the wake of the controversy over Judith Collins' visit with Oravida.

Much of the recent focus on sending milk to China has been on Justice Minister Judith Collins.

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.

When Prime Minister John Key heads off to China tonight, it will be as much about talking to China's mothers as talking to its leaders.

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.

Surging dairy exports to China have pushed the annual trade balance into surplus for the first time in nearly two years.

Fonterra has raised its forecast payout to farmers to $8.65 per kilogram of milk solids as global demand for milk powders remains strong.

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.