经济学人204:食用油产业怎么了?

 　　Vegetable oil

　　植物油

　　What’s cooking?

　　发生了什么事?

　　Edible¹ oils are filling fuel tanks as well as bellies²

　　食用油填饱了肚子还要灌满油箱

　　Sep 17th 2011 | from the print edition

　　OIL markets are full of uncertainty³. Asian demand is booming and doubts abound⁴ over the ability of supply to match the world’s appetite. What goes for crude oil also applies to the stuff squeezed out of vegetable matter.

　　石油市场变幻莫测。亚洲国家对石油的需求与日俱增，石油供应能否满足世界需求受到广泛质疑。人们对原油的贪求目光同样落在了植物性物质所压榨出的东西身上。

　　The price of stir-frying and dressing⁵ a salad has rarely been higher. Over the past decade the price of vegetable oils has all but quadrupled. Like other commodities, prices hit records in 2008. The subsequent slump⁶ is now forgotten: prices are back close to the peaks. Glencore, the world’s biggest commodity trader, may be about to confirm the industry’s allure⁷: rumours⁸ are flying that it is mulling an investment in KS Oils, an Indian edible-oil firm.

　　炒菜和酱沙拉的价格一直呈高企态势。过去十年间，植物油的价格几乎翻了两翻。与其它商品一样,它的价格在2008年创造了纪录。随后的价格暴跌现已被人们淡忘：现在价格又反弹至高点附近。全球最大商品交易商(瑞士)嘉能可国际公司将向人们证实该行业的吸引力有多强：坊间盛传该公司正在考虑投资印度食用油企业“KS食用油品公司”。

　　Kona Haque of Macquarie, an Australian bank, points to two structural⁹ factors behind oil’s sizzle: China and biodiesels. A planet with more mouths to feed and deeper pockets has led to rapid growth in consumption of vegetable oils as well as grains and meat. And although the rapid surge in demand for oils in China and the rest of Asia is slowing there is still plenty of scope for more growth.

　　澳大利亚麦格理银行科纳·哈克指出炙手可热的石油业背后存在着两大结构性因素：中国和生物柴油。养活全球众多人口和全球巨大财富导致了植物油、粮食及肉类消耗的快速增长。尽管中国及亚洲其它地区迅速飙升的石油需求正在放缓，但石油的需求增长空间仍然较大。

　　In the past few years a new source of demand has emerged for vegetable oils. Biodiesel production has rapidly accelerated and now consumes over a tenth of the global vegetable-oil crop. Depending on the crude-oil price and governments’ enthusiasm for mandating¹⁰ biofuels it could account for as much as a fifth by 2020, according to Peter Thoenes of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation¹¹.

　　在过去数年间，植物油出现了一种新的用途需求。生物柴油产量快速增长，消耗了全球植物油作物总量的十分之一。联合国粮农组织彼得·梭尼斯表示，受制于原油价格波动及政府热衷于强制使用生物燃油，生物柴油对植物油作物的消耗量到2020年有望达到五分之一。

　　The effect of growing demand for the two main types of vegetable oil, palm and soya (see chart), is amplified¹² by supply problems. In the case of soya, competition for land is the main concern. Farmers in America, the world’s top exporter, and Brazil, in second place, are switching to maize¹³ as sky-high prices make it more attractive.

　　人们对植物油的两种主要原料棕榈和大豆需求在不断增加，而供应问题却严重影响了此种需求。就大豆而言，如何争取到更多的土地成为问题的关键。由于玉米高昂的价格优势，全球农产品出口居首位的美国及位居第二位的巴西正将目光投向玉米种植。

　　Palm oil, also used to make soaps and cosmetics¹⁴, comes almost exclusively from Indonesia and Malaysia. It suffers from even more acute supply problems. Already intensively cultivated and mechanised, there are few opportunities for farmers to increase output by improving yields on existing acreage. Developing and rolling out new higher-yielding strains is much easier and quicker for annual crops like wheat than for perennials¹⁵ such as palm trees that take time to mature and will bear fruit for many years.

　　生产肥皂和化妆用品的棕榈油几乎都产自于马来西亚和印尼。它所面临的供应问题就更为严重。尽管农民已精耕细作并实现了机械化种植，但仅凭提高现有土地面积的产出已很难让棕榈油产量得到大幅提升。开发和种植新型高产品种对小麦这种一年生作物会有立竿见影的成效，而棕榈树这种多年生植物需要很长时间才能到达成熟期并且数年之内都可产出棕榈油。

　　Finding more land has unpalatable costs. Environmentalists point out that the spread of palm-oil plantations¹⁶ is the greatest threat to forests in Indonesia and Malaysia. In May Indonesia introduced a two-year moratorium¹⁷ on forest clearance¹⁸ in return for $1 billion, as part of a bilateral¹⁹ climate deal with Norway. But loopholes and exemptions²⁰ mean that it may not slow down deforestation much. Like its crude counterpart, the march of the vegetable-oil business is not easily resisted.

　　寻找更多土地的成本代价令人难以接受。环境专家指出棕榈油种植园的扩张成为印尼和马来西亚的森林的最大威胁。作为与挪威双边气候协定的部分内容，五月份，印尼引入两年期森林禁止砍伐计划以获取10亿美元的回报。但由于政策漏洞及豁免规定，该计划对森林砍伐速度可能不会有太大的影响。与石油开发商相同，进军植物油产业的诱惑力难以抵挡。

1 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

2 bellies   

n.肚子( belly的名词复数 )；腹部；（物体的）圆形或凸起部份；腹部…形的

参考例句：

• They crawled along on their bellies. 他们匍匐前进。
• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

5 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

6 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

7 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

8 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

9 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 mandating   

托管（mandate的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Current requirements mandating that committees keep minutes are too general. 目前对委员会要保持详细记录的指令性要求，还是太过一般化了。
• Mandating that workers who quit without permission forfeit a month's wages. 规定工人私自离岗将受到罚没一个月工资的处罚。

11 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

12 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

13 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

14 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

15 perennials   

n.多年生植物( perennial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Name six perennials and six annuals suitable for indoor flower arrangement. 列出多年生及一年生花朵各六种，它们必须是适合插花的。 来自互联网
• Herbage can be divided into three categories: annuals, biennials, and perennials. 草本植物可分成一年生、二年生和多年生。 来自互联网

16 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

17 moratorium   

n.(行动、活动的)暂停(期)，延期偿付

参考例句：

• The government has called for a moratorium on weapons testing.政府已要求暂停武器试验。
• We recommended a moratorium on two particular kinds of experiments.我们建议暂禁两种特殊的实验。

18 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

19 bilateral   

adj.双方的，两边的，两侧的

参考例句：

• They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.他们一直在商谈一项双边贸易协定。
• There was a wide gap between the views of the two statesmen on the bilateral cooperation.对双方合作的问题，两位政治家各自所持的看法差距甚大。

20 exemptions   

n.（义务等的）免除( exemption的名词复数 )；免（税）；（收入中的）免税额

参考例句：

• The exemptions for interpretive rules, policy statements, and procedural rules have just been discussed. 有关解释性规则、政策说明和程序规则的免责我们刚刚讨论过。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• A: The regulation outlines specific exemptions for some WPM. 答：该规定概述了某些木质包装材料的特定的例外情形。 来自互联网