Canterbury has seen a 42% increase in livestock per hectare in the past 15 years as the region farms more dairy cows over sheep.

Milk powder rose $48 million in value in January 2017, despite the quantity exported falling by around 19,000 tonnes or 9.4%, Statistics New Zealand says.

Dairy products led a rise in total exports in October, but meat and offal exports were down from the same month last year, Statistics New Zealand says.

In the September 2016 quarter, producer output prices rose 1%, and producer input prices rose 1.5%.

Tomato and lettuce prices were both down 29% in October, Statistics NZ says.

Meat and edible offal exports fell 15% ($235 million) in the September quarter, Statistics New Zealand says.

Farmers need to start asking companies to get behind existing technology to make life easier for farmers when it comes to data collection.

Milk powder exports falling in August have contributed to a 8.7% fall in the monthly value of exports when compared with August 2015, Statistics NZ says.

A lift in meat and dairy manufacturing helped increase total manufacturing sales in the June 2016 quarter, Statistics New Zealand says.

Fruit exporters helped boost wholesale trade sales in the June 2016 quarter, Statistics NZ says.