Bank card transactions amounted to 6.86 trillion yuan (NZ$1.4 trillion) in China last year, accounting for 32% of the country's total retail sales, according to ChinaDaily.com.
Five of the aquaculture companies -- including Sanford and Sealord -- on the trade mission have agreed to work together in marketing mussels within China under a single brand name.
Growth in private label (or store brand) is approaching 20% of dollar value in the US with this market segment being driven by affluent households, according to FoodandDrinkEurope.com.
US express delivery giant, FedEx, has increased its original four 777 freighters on order with Boeing by two, ahead of expected rising cargo volumes, according to the Shipping Gazette.
A recent survey published by Facebakers, a site that provides information on Facebook statistics and applications, revealed that 36% of the UAE's population is registered on Facebook, making it the leader in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, followed by Qatar with 29% penetration.
LePhone is customised for Chinese users and has received strong support from top domestic service and content suppliers, including Baidu Inc, Alibaba Group and Tencent Inc.
The centrepiece of the funding increase is a $234-million boost in support for business research and development over four years, according to a press release from prime minister John Key's office.
Automation and software solutions for the Australian, New Zealand and Southeast Asian food and beverage industry is expected to grow at a rate of 10-15%, according to a report from FoodMag.com.au, citing a Frost & Sullivan report.
The United States Australasia Discussion Agreement (USADA) member lines have called for a general rate increase of US$150 (NZ$209) per TEU and $300 (NZ$419) per FEU to apply on dry and refrigerated shipments moving from the United States to Australia and New Zealand.
On-time performance by global carriers in the last quarter of 2009 significantly worsened from the first half of the year. From a high of nearly 68% in the second quarter of 2009, carriers were on time only 53% of the time in the last quarter, AmericanShipper.com says, citing research by London-based Drewry.
Countries using the euro account for four of New Zealand's top 20 export markets. The NZ dollar rise is making exports expensive for Europeans, Radio New Zealand says.
Korean food industry representatives will have an unprecedented opportunity to sample fresh, pure food and beverage items from New Zealand when they attend Seoul Food and Hotel 2010.
A US federal proposal is being put forward that would provide an estimated US$20 million (NZ$27 million) for apple farmers to switch to new varieties such as Honeyscrips that sell at a premium compared to the traditional variety such as McIntosh, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
Australia's Westpac bank has begun buying carbon offsets from New Zealand forest owners with the aim of selling them to big polluting firms as part of the country's emissions trading scheme, according to a Reuters report.
Fenchem, the Chinese producer of dietary supplements and functional foods, has opened an office in Vitkovice, Czech Republic with the aim of doubling the size of its European business, according to NutraIngredients.com.
HAMBURG SUD and CCNI (Compania Chilena de Navegacion Interoceanica) have announced their decision to restore capacity to pre-financial crisis levels in the trade between Asia, Mexico and South American West Coast.
The recent session of the Canton Fair attracted 203,996 overseas buyers from 212 countries and regions around the world, down 1.3% from its spring session in 2007.
