According to the latest customs data released by China, China’s imports of New Zealand dairy products grew at the fastest rate in a year increasing in value by 70% year on year to reach a value of $1.3 billion and outpacing the value of imports in December 2013 by 44%. According to the HSBC bank global dairy prices increased by over 50% in 2013 and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization’s Dairy Price Index increased 1.3% in January on particularly high demand from China and emerging markets such as North Africa with China’s demand notably high in the fourth quarter of 2013. The data from China indicated another sector worth watching as imports of timber and logs from New Zealand into China hit record volumes in 2013 with January data showing a 1,597% increase in imports of logs and timber year on year.
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