西班牙制造

　　A pressing issue

　　迫在眉睫

　　The government frets 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 scuttled 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 exalted status inSpain. Four savings 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 bidders 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。

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　　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 controversy 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 mere 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 markup, 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 groves.

　　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 retailed 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 retailers 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 relatively 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 cuisine 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。