口译时事：中国配方奶粉抢购潮波及海外

2013-04-09 00:00:00来源：大耳朵英语

　　Supermarkets as far afield as the UK and Australia have been forced to ration infant formula due to rampant Chinese demand for foreign-made baby milk.

　　连远在英国和澳大利亚的超市，都开始被迫对婴儿配方奶粉实行限量购买，原因在于中国对外国产奶粉的需求量大得可怕。

　　Mainland Chinese buyers have been snapping up cans of formula across the globe following a string of safety scandals in the domestic market, starting with the melamine-spiked milk of 2008 that killed six babies and left 300,000 sick.

　　以2008年导致6名婴儿死亡、30万名婴儿患病的三聚氰胺奶粉事件为开端，中国国内市场爆发了一连串的安全丑闻。随后，中国内地的买家开始在全球范围内抢购罐装配方奶粉。

　　Voracious demand for overseas-manufactured formula – Chinese babies are expected to slurp their way through $14.5bn worth of milk powder this year – has prompted smuggling rings and entrepreneurial escapades: cans are available online for Rmb150-Rmb200 ($24-$32).

　　对海外产配方奶粉的巨大需求催生了走私集团和企业冒险：网上销售的奶粉每罐价格达150至200元人民币(合24至32美元)。预计今年中国婴儿将消费145亿美元的奶粉。

　　Production of formula is also under pressure, as a severe drought in New Zealand – the biggest provider in the global dairy trade – forces up the cost of raw milk powder. The New Zealand price, a proxy for Asia Pacific, was 30 per cent higher month-on-month in March.

　　配方奶粉的生产也在承受压力，全球最大奶制品供应国新西兰发生严重旱灾，推高了原料奶粉的价格。作为亚太风向标，3月份新西兰原料奶粉的价格环比上涨了30%。

　　The frenzy for formula has forced governments to step in. Hong Kong, where shelves are regularly cleared by mainland visitors, introduced curbs at customs in February. Smugglers have been arrested for carrying more than 1.8kg out of the city.

　　奶粉抢购潮已迫使多地政府进行干预。在内地游客经常把货架上的奶粉抢购一空的香港，政府从2月份开始限购奶粉并在海关进行检查。已有走私者因企图携带1.8千克以上奶粉离境而遭拘捕。

　　The effects in Hong Kong have been felt well beyond the supermarket shelves.

　　奶粉抢购潮的影响远远超出了香港超市的货架。

　　The frenzy is changing the face of the city’s streets, say property analysts, as pharmacies replace clothes shops and noodle joints. Some travel agents have even directly linked rising flight prices to certain destinations – such as Australia – to the rising number of mainland tourists stocking up on milk powder.

　　地产分析师表示，抢购潮正在改变这座城市街道的面貌——药店开始取代服装店和面馆。有些旅行社甚至把前往澳大利亚等目的地的机票涨价，直接归因于中国内地抢购奶粉游客人数的增多。

　　This month UK supermarket chains such as Wm Morrison, J Sainsbury, Asda and Tesco began restricting customers to two tins of infant milk formula.

　　本月，Wm Morrison、森宝利(J Sainsbury)、阿斯达(Asda)和乐购(Tesco)等英国超市开始限制顾客只能购买两罐婴儿配方奶粉。

　　“This is being done at the request of the manufacturers, who believe it’s possible that some organised groups of customers are buying up products in unusually large quantities for export,” said Richard Dodd, of the British Retail Consortium.

　　英国零售商协会(British Retail Consortium)的理查德多德(Richard Dodd)表示：“这一做法是应生产商的要求推出的。生产商认为，某些有组织的顾客群体可能会大举买入奶粉之后再出口。”

　　Danone has taken steps to prevent profits being re-routed into smugglers’ hands by introducing official sales of Dutch-made formula on Chinese online platform TMall .

　　达能(Danone)已在中国在线平台天猫(TMall)上销售荷兰产配方奶粉，借此防止利润流到走私者的腰包。

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本文关键字: 配方奶粉