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.

The rural sector drives our economy. Yet there are surprisingly few opportunities for townies to invest in it. It is, of course, possible to buy a farm. This, however, is out of the financial reach of most investors.

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

Testing for a toxic agricultural substance in New Zealand dairy products has found no traces of it after mid-November last year.

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.

A New Zealand exporter selling infant formula in China says the latest agricultural chemical issue is a public relations disaster and sales have fallen "to zero".

Demand for New Zealand dairy livestock in China appears to be booming, with more than 38,000 live animals leaving our shores for Chinese pastures last year.

The world's economic recovery remains stalled five years after the global financial crisis and is likely to remain that way until 2017, international credit reporting agency Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) said.

Kiwis have been imbibing it since 1987, but the boss of Kiwi herbal mineral water brand Ch'i says the firm still has plenty of scope for growth.

A trial involving five parties linked to the running of Crafar Farms who face hundreds of charges between them of animal abuse has been postponed.

Natasha King has already written her own obituary. Although it was only part of a management course run by her employer, Meridian Energy.