NZ meat exports held up on Chinese wharves may have been delayed partly due to Chinese efforts at curbing counterfeit meat sales, the PM has suggested.

A name change for a government ministry has resulted on New Zealand meat being blocked at Chinese ports, Labour has claimed.

The Ministry of Primary Industries has reassured overseas consumers that NZ milk is safe after claims it could be contaminated with radioactive chemicals.

The Commerce Commission is sticking to its guns in the long-running air cargo cartel case against Air NZ, which yesterday renewed its bid to have the case dropped.

Today, more than 70 billion animals are raised and killed for food worldwide annually, the majority in factory farms.

Prices have fallen more than 7 per cent in the latest global dairy auction held overnight. It comes after a slight dip in prices two weeks ago.

The backdrop is positive for New Zealand and will help offset some of the more domestic headwinds that are emerging, writes Anoop Singh.

Trade Minister Tim Groser says he is disappointed he had to drop out of the race to become the director-general of the World Trade Organisation.

Prime Minister John Key says he is confident safety and environment rules being brought in to cover oil and gas exploration will keep out "cowboy "operators.

Spirulina, that gooey green stuff that was all the rage with 1990s health fanatics, is big business for an Auckland firm that's one of the world's biggest suppliers.

Arrests of infant formula smugglers have surpassed those of heroin and other drug runners at Hong Kong's border since it introduced new laws restricting how much baby milk - much of which is made in New Zealand - can be carried into mainland China.

A stoush has erupted in the lucrative infant formula export industry after Chinese media outlets published articles about a newly formed export association.

A Samoan MP and former health minister has reignited calls on New Zealand to stop sending fatty meat to the Pacific Islands over health concerns.

Prices of dairy products recorded their smallest gain this year, edging up to a new record.

Rainbow Confectionery has doubled its capacity with the acquisition of an Australian confectionery plant.

Labour's Clayton Cosgrove has accused Solid Energy of excessive spending in the year leading up to the company's near collapse.

Strong overseas demand for the New Zealand dollar is likely to form a major barrier to attempts by the Reserve Bank to bring it down, say analysts.