Supermarkets around the world are selling Anchor milk and Fernleaf butter that is not produced on New Zealand farms.

Fonterra will launch its own infant formula brand in China this year as it looks to grab a slice of the booming market for the product in the Asian superpower.

Prices of dairy products have surged to a record in Fonterra's latest global online auction as traders competed for a shrinking volume of drought-affected milk powder.

Fonterra enjoyed strong earnings in the first half and has raised its payout forecast to farmers for the current year.

Profits have soared 33 per cent at our largest exporter Fonterra, but the dairy giant warns its performance is unlikely to be repeated in the second half of the year.

Zespri chairman-designate Peter McBride will be relieved the Chinese court decision on the "cargo smuggling" case is finally out.

An unexpected trade surplus last month shrank the annual deficit to its smallest since last September, but economists expect the drought to widen it again.

China is becoming an increasingly important market for New Zealand wine and a group of local firms is hoping to boost sales further by making an appearance the Chengdu Wine Fair.

Businesses expect the New Zealand dollar to peak around the middle of the year before declining, according to an ASB Bank survey.

World dairy prices have surged to the highest since June 2011 with the prospect of New Zealand production curtailed by drought.

Commodity prices rose in February but the strength of the local currency meant they were flat in kiwi dollar terms.

Exports fell in the last three months of 2012 in real terms and the impact has been compounded by a decline in what we can buy, by way of imports, for a given quantity of exports.

Boutique beer maker Moa is hoping to cash in on a growing craft beer market in Canada.

The hot dry summer in the North Island is helping to push world dairy prices up - but the high kiwi dollar is taking the cream off the top.

In the fifth straight gain, prices in the latest world dairy auction rose 3.1 per cent overnight, takings prices to their highest level in five months.

Rakon's share price dropped by nearly 24pc to an all-time low today after the high-tech components maker cut its earnings guidance for the second time since December.