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.

NZ Trade Ministry spokesman says access for agricultural products to customs union is key sticking point.

News that China may have become the world's largest trading nation had an air of inevitability about it, writes Stephen Jacobi. Yet even as we learn to ride the Chinese wave, we need to keep our options open.

Herald business editor Liam Dann says the new Fonterra recall needs to be kept in perspective - but the world is watching the dairy giant much more closely now.

The export of logs to China is driving an increase in the value of NZ's forestry products - now worth more than $4.5 billion a year.

New Zealand's iron sand exports could soar to almost 10 million tonnes a year by 2016, as Australia's BlueScope Steel adds shipping capacity at its Taharoa site and Trans-Tasman Resources remains hopeful of approval for its offshore mining venture.

New Zealand reported its first trade surplus for the month of November in 22 years as rising dairy exports into China made it the country's biggest trading partner.

The New Zealand wine industry has continued its turnaround in 2013, posting a record grape harvest and improved profitably for wineries.

British shoppers have noticed that their favourite Anchor butter tastes different - with the explanation being it's no longer from New Zealand.

Federated Farmers says a report on Fonterra's botulism scare has highlighted the need for a stronger food safety regime.

We must first conquer our island syndrome and pull together if we are ever to win the world from the edge, writes Kevin Roberts.

International dairy product prices are pushing sharply higher, driven by strong demand from China.

World prices for a basket of New Zealand's export commodities eased last month but a softer exchange rate more than compensated for the decline.

Surging dairy prices have pushed the terms of trade to a 40-year high.

Higher dairy export prices have driven New Zealand's terms of trade to their highest point since 1973, Statistics NZ says.

The 2013-14 export lamb kill will be the lowest in 50 years because of last summer's drought, but better prices should compensate for the lost volume.