VOA慢速英語:China Looks to Ukraine for Food

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語農(nóng)業(yè)報道。

America is the world's largest food exporter. But the worst drought in half a century is hitting corn and wheat harvests. The drought across the central United States adds to concerns about world food supplies and prices in the coming years.

美國是全球最大的糧食出口國。但半個世紀以來最嚴重的干旱正在重創(chuàng)玉米和小麥產(chǎn)量。這次橫跨美國中部的干旱增加了人們對未來幾年世界糧食供應和價格的關注。

Experts say by twenty-fifty, the world will have to produce at least sixty percent more food to feed a population growing bigger and richer. China, a major food importer, is looking to producers around the world to guarantee future food supplies.

專家表示，到2050年，全球?qū)⒈仨毝嗌a(chǎn)60%以上的糧食來養(yǎng)活持續(xù)增長和富有的人口。作為主要糧食進口國的中國正在全球范圍內(nèi)尋找生產(chǎn)商以保證未來的糧食供應。

China has invested in food production in Australia and New Zealand. A new source of supply is Ukraine. Ukraine was known as the breadbasket of Europe because of rich corn and wheat harvests a century ago.

中國已經(jīng)在澳大利亞和新西蘭投資于糧食生產(chǎn)。烏克蘭是一個新的供應來源。由于一個世紀前的玉米和小麥大豐收，烏克蘭被稱為歐洲糧倉。

Galyna Kovtok is chief executive of Ukraine's largest agricultural business, ULF. She predicts that within a few months her company will be approved to export corn to China. That will make Ukraine the first country outside the Americas to do so.

Galyna Kovtok是烏克蘭最大的農(nóng)業(yè)企業(yè)，烏克蘭農(nóng)牧集團(ULF)的首席執(zhí)行官。她預測在短短幾個月內(nèi)，烏克蘭農(nóng)牧集團將被批準向中國出口玉米。這將使得烏克蘭成為美洲以外第一個向中國出口玉米的國家。

ULF will soon have almost two million tons of elevator storage capacity as it prepares for the Chinese market. Chinese money is financing the building of six grain elevators. But the company's equipment is largely American, including half-million-dollar John Deere combines to harvest wheat.

由于籌備中國市場，烏克蘭農(nóng)牧集團即將擁有近兩百萬噸的谷倉儲存容量。中國資金為6個谷倉的建設提供了融資。但該公司的設備主要是美國生產(chǎn)的，包括價值50萬美元的約翰迪爾小麥聯(lián)合收割機。

ULF's grain production per hectare is now halfway between Ukrainian averages and the high yields of the American Midwest. But farming depends on the weather. Across the Black Sea region -- in Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan -- drought this year is pushing harvests down by fifteen to twenty percent.

烏克蘭農(nóng)牧集團每公頃糧食產(chǎn)量目前處于烏克蘭平均值和美國中西部高產(chǎn)量兩者之間。但農(nóng)業(yè)取決于天氣。今年橫跨黑海地區(qū)烏克蘭、俄羅斯和哈薩克斯坦的干旱導致產(chǎn)量下降了15%到20%。

Traditionally, the Black Sea region is the main source of wheat for North Africa and the Middle East. But this year, on the supply side, Russia may have to suspend exports. And, on the demand side, Africa and the Middle East are now competing with China.

傳統(tǒng)上，黑海地區(qū)是北非和中東地區(qū)小麥的主要來源。但今年在供應方面，俄羅斯可能不得不暫停出口。而在需求方面，非洲和中東正面臨同中國競爭。

At the same time, a new report says large parts of Asia may face long periods of severe drought within ten years. The report is from the British-based Center for Low Carbon Futures, a network of universities. It says northern China, India, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Pakistan will be especially hard hit. It says other parts of Asia are likely to face longer and wetter monsoon seasons because of climate change.

與此同時，一份新的報告稱，未來十年，亞洲大部分地區(qū)可能面臨長時間的嚴重干旱。這份報告來自總部位于英國的大學網(wǎng)絡--低碳遠景中心。報告稱，中國北部、印度、阿富汗、蒙古和巴基斯坦將遭受特別沉重的打擊。由于氣候變化，亞洲其它地區(qū)可能面臨時間更長，更多雨的季風季節(jié)。

Andrew McConville works for the agricultural technology company Syngenta. He says a lack of new investment in technology to help farmers improve productivity has had an effect.

安德魯·麥康威爾(Andrew McConville)就職于農(nóng)業(yè)科技公司先正達(Syngenta)。他表示，在幫助農(nóng)民提高生產(chǎn)力的科技上的投資缺乏已經(jīng)效果顯現(xiàn)。

ANDREW McCONVILLE: "You really start to see, if you like, all of those things come together, laid over the top of very high prices as well, so you almost had a perfect storm of factors coming together."

麥康威爾：“你真的可以開始看到，所有因素累積起來，奠定了非常高的價格頂部。暴風雨即將來臨。”