Tatua chief executive Paul McGilvary will step down on January 31, a satisfied man.

A newly published report by KPMG shows that in the last two years China has been the single biggest offshore investor in the New Zealand dairy sector, placing 28% of the $1.3 billion that came into dairy and milk processing from offshore.

Rabobank’s Farm 2 Fork (F2F) summit in Sydney was all about food – but briefly became about fashion as Dutch Queen Maxima took to the stage with husband King Willem-Alexander to congratulate winners in the Food Bytes! competition.

Fonterra is introducing a new patented global food quality seal – ‘Trusted Goodness’ – for its products as part of its business strategy to add value to milk and maximise returns for its farmers.

Another 40 million cartons of whipping cream will soon be rolling down the conveyors at Fonterra’s state-of-the-art Waitoa UHT facility every year, as the cooperative keeps pace with growing demand.

A range of factors including currency fluctuations, a weak and volatile outlook for lamb and wool, plus the impact of drought and facial eczema, will impact on sheep and beef farmer profitability this season.

While demand from China and ASEAN countries for New Zealand milk continues to grow, export margins have been squeezed and could potentially tighten further, according to a recently-released industry report.

Trade Minister Todd McClay will visit China and Hong Kong for a series of trade discussions, and participate in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting in Cebu, Philippines.

International dairy commodity prices have recovered markedly in recent months, as global supply and demand slowly balance, according to Dairy Australia’s latest Situation and Outlook report.

The double auctions in the South and North Islands attracted more interest yesterday.