经济学人380:西班牙制造 迫在眉睫

 　　Made in Spain

　　西班牙制造

　　A pressing issue

　　迫在眉睫

　　The government frets¹ about foreign hands on the nation's olive-presses

　　外国人插手本国橄榄油产业让政府很不安

　　These are Spanish, not Italian

　　这些是产自西班牙的橄榄，不是产自意大利的

　　THE French government once scuttled² a possible foreign bid for Danone, a big dairy firm, on the ground that it was a national industrial “jewel”. If yogurt is strategic for the French, olive oil has the same exalted³ status inSpain. Four savings⁴ banks wanted to sell their combined 31% stake in Deoleo, the country's largest producer, and under Spain's stockmarket rules anyone buying such a large stake has to bid for the whole company. Earlier this month, when it emerged that all the bidders⁵ were foreign, ministers said they would prefer that it remained in Spanish hands, and raised the possibility of the state taking a stake in the firm.

　　达能集团是法国一家大型乳制品公司。法国政府曾以它是法国工业的“瑰宝”为理由，否决一项可能达成的国外买家对它的收购案。如果把酸奶产业看作是法国的战略产业，那么橄榄油产业在西班牙拥有同样高的地位。Deoleo是西班牙最大的橄榄油生产商，四家储蓄银行想抛售他们所持有共计31%的Deoleo股份，而根据西班牙股市交易规则，不论是谁购入如此大额的股份，他都必须向整个公司股东发出收购要约。本月初，当发现所有的竞购者都来自国外，部长们表示他们更希望Deoleo公司的所有权留在西班牙手中，随即提出了国家参股的可能性。

　　西班牙制造.jpg

　　On April 10th a British private-equity firm, CVC Capital, won the backing of Deoleo's board after making the highest offer, valuing it at 439m. But given the controversy⁶ over selling to foreigners, two of the four would-be sellers now look like keeping their stakes. CVC will end up owning 30% of Deoleo but will later seek to buy the rest.

　　4月10日英国一家私募股权公司CVC Capital以4.93亿欧元的最高价竞投，赢得了Deoleo董事会的支持。但考虑到买家是外国人而引发的争议，现在四家储蓄银行中的两家看来要拒绝出售他们所持有的股份。CVC公司最终将拥有Deoleo 公司30%的股份，但之后将寻求购买其余股份的机会。

　　Olive oil accounts for a mere⁷ 0.8% ofSpain's exports. Yet it is an extra-sensitive matter. The country is the world's largest producer of the oil, but one-third of its exports are sent in bulk toItalywhere it is bottled and sold, often for a significant markup⁸, under Italian labels. Some of the oil sold with the Bertolli brand, one ofItaly's andAmerica's favourites, is in fact pressed by Deoleo from the fruits of Spanish olive groves⁹.

　　橄榄油出口额仅占西班牙出口额的0.8%。然而它却是一个特别敏感的问题。西班牙是世界上最大的橄榄油生产国，但是其出口的橄榄油有三分之一是批量发送到意大利的，在那里橄榄油以装瓶出售，通常带着明显的意大利标签，以意大利自有品牌进行销售。Bertolli是意大利人和美国人最青睐品牌之一，然而，有些冠以Bertolli的品牌出售的橄榄油，实际上是使用产自西班牙橄榄园的橄榄，由Deoleo公司压榨的。

　　It is a similar story for wine.Spainhas overtakenFranceandItalyto become the world's largest producer, but sells almost half of its exports in bulk to markets likeFrance, some of which is retailed¹⁰ under French labels. French- and Italian-labelled wines typically fetch higher prices than Spanish-labelled ones, though the gap is narrowing. And despite the global success of Spanish fashion retailers¹¹ such as Inditex and Mango, the fancy handbags turned out by artisans in the small Andalusian town ofUbriqueare sold under French and Italian labels. Stuart Weitzman, an American shoe designer who makes his products inSpain, says the country produces the world's best footwear, but its domestic labels have barely left a footprint on the world stage.

　　对于葡萄酒，情况也类似。西班牙已经超过法国和意大利，成为世界上最大的葡萄酒生产国，但其出口的葡萄酒有几乎一半都批量送往国外零售市场，如法国零售市场，其中一些葡萄酒被冠以法国品牌出售。被冠以法国和意大利品牌标签的葡萄酒通常比西班牙品牌的葡萄酒售价更高，但这一差距正在缩小。尽管西班牙快时尚零售商在全球取得了成功，例如Inditex集团和芒果服饰，但是由乌夫克里的安达卢西亚小镇中的工匠所制作的高档手袋，却被冠以法国和意大利的品牌销售。美国的鞋设计师斯图尔特.威兹曼在西班牙生产他的产品，他说：西班牙出产全世界最好的鞋，但其本土品牌却鲜有在世界舞台上留下足迹。

　　Spainhas come a long way, compared with the relatively¹² closed economy it had before joining the European Union in 1986. More recently, rising exports have helped pull the country out of a deep recession, with the economy returning to growth in the third quarter of 2013. Exports are now 34% of Spain's GDP, up from 24% in 2009. Its olive oil is winning new customers in places likeChinaandMexico. Prominent chefs like Ferran Adria have raised the profile of Spanish cuisine¹³ and attracted foodie tourists. But the country clearly has some way to go in raising the prestige of the “Made inSpain” label.

　　1986年加入欧盟前，西班牙还是个相对封闭的经济体，到如今，它已取得很大进展。最近，出口的增长已帮助西班牙走出了深度的经济衰退。随着2013年第三季度经济回暖，日益增长的出口逐步拉动西班牙走出大萧条的泥沼。2009年，西班牙的出口额仅占国内生产总值的24%，如今已增长到34%。其橄榄油产品正在赢得中国和墨西哥等国顾客的青睐。像Ferran Adria这样的著名厨师提高了西班牙美食的知名度，也吸引了美食游客的到来。但显然，对于提高“西班牙制造”的声望，西班牙还有一段路要走。

1 frets   

基质间片； 品丝（吉他等指板上定音的）( fret的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The river frets away the rocks along its banks. 河水侵蚀了两岸的岩石。
• She frets at even the slightest delays. 稍有延误她就不满。

2 scuttled   

v.使船沉没( scuttle的过去式和过去分词 )；快跑，急走

参考例句：

• She scuttled off when she heard the sound of his voice. 听到他的说话声，她赶紧跑开了。
• The thief scuttled off when he saw the policeman. 小偷看见警察来了便急忙跑掉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

4 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

5 bidders   

n.出价者，投标人( bidder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Bidders should proceed only if they intend on using a PayPal account to complete payment. Bidders的唯一形式，应继续只当他们在使用贝宝帐户，以完成付款打算。 来自互联网
• The other bidders for the contract complained that it had not been a fair contest. 其他竞标人抱怨说该合同的竞标不公平。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

7 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

8 markup   

n.加价，涨价，利润

参考例句：

• This mean that international delivery will line markup from today.这意味着国际快递将从今天起全线涨价。
• Our products are expensive,and distributors and retailers always want a large markup.我们的产品很贵，经销商和零售商总是要求高额利差。

9 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

10 retailed   

vt.零售（retail的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• She retailed the neighbours' activities with relish. 她饶有兴趣地对邻居们的活动说三道四。
• The industrial secrets were retailed to a rival concern. 工业秘密被泄露给一家对立的公司。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

12 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

13 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。