VOA慢速英语2019 英国食品行业称无协议脱欧可能会导致食品短缺（在线收听）

British Food Industry: No-deal Brexit Could Lead to Shortages

Britain could experience shortages of some fresh foods for weeks or even months if the country leaves the European Union without a trade deal.

如果英国在未达成贸易协议的情况下脱离欧盟，该国可能会经历数周甚至数月的新鲜食品短缺。

A British food industry group made the warning Wednesday. It said, if Britain withdraws from the EU without a trade agreement, fresh food may be left to go bad on trucks at ports.

英国一家食品行业组织周三发出了这一警告。该组织表示，如果英国在未达成贸易协议的情况下脱离欧盟，生鲜食品可能会烂在港口的卡车上。

Tim Rycroft is the Chief Operating Officer of Britain’s Food and Drink Federation. He said, “We’re not going to starve, but there will be shortages of fresh food and some specialist ingredients. It’s going to be a little bit unpredictable.”

蒂姆·莱克罗夫特是英国食品和饮料联合会的首席运营官。他说：“我们不会挨饿，但是生鲜食品和一些特定食材会出现短缺。这一点难以准确预测。”

“Given that food very often is perishable…we expect that there will be some selective shortages of food in the weeks and months following no-deal Brexit,” Rycroft said. “There will be some shortages and price rises.”

莱克罗夫特表示：“鉴于生鲜食品往往容易腐烂，我们预估在无协议脱欧之后的几周或几个月内，会出现有选择性的食品短缺。食品会出现一些短缺和涨价。”

Officials of large food companies warn that leaving the EU, known as Brexit, could cause shortages because they may be unable to fill warehouses before the Christmas holiday.

各大型食品公司的官员们警告称，脱欧可能会导致短缺，这是因为他们可能无法在圣诞假期前装满仓库。

The British food industry employs 450,000 people. The industry says Brexit may be the country’s greatest challenge since World War II.

英国食品行业有45万雇员。业内人士表示，脱欧可能是该国二战以来面临的最大挑战。

A costly delay

推迟脱欧代价高昂

Britain had planned to formally leave the EU on March 29 of this year. But the British Parliament failed to approve a deal negotiated with the 27 other member states. So Brexit has been delayed. There also is a possibility that Britain could withdraw from the EU without any agreement at all: a so-called no-deal Brexit.

英国曾经计划在今年3月29日正式脱离欧盟。但是英国议会未能批准该国同其它27个成员国谈判达成的协议。因此英国脱欧被推迟了。英国也有可能会在未达成任何协议的情况下脱离欧盟，即所谓的无协议脱欧。

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned he will lead Britain out of the EU on October 31 without a deal unless a new one is negotiated.

英国首相鲍里斯·约翰逊警告说，除非通过谈判达成新的协议，否则他将会让英国在10月31日脱离欧盟。

After three years of Brexit discussion, it is still unclear on what terms Britain will leave the European Union. The possibilities include another delay or a deal reached at the last minute. It also includes the very real possibility that Britain will pull out of the EU without negotiating any new trade agreements. That could cause big problems for businesses that import products.

经过3年的脱欧谈判，目前仍不清楚英国将会以何种条款脱离欧盟。英国可能会再一次推迟脱欧，或是在最后时刻达成协议。英国还有可能会在未达成任何新协议的情况下退出欧盟。这可能会给进口企业造成很大麻烦。

Every year, as the winter nears, Britain increases the amount of food it imports. That increased demand will start just as a no-deal Brexit will hold food at ports as officials try to deal with different import rules, Rycroft explained.

每年随着冬季来临，英国都会增加进口食品的数量。莱克罗夫特解释说，随着无协议脱欧让食品滞留港口，因为官方要设法处理不同的进口规定，这种需求增加就会开始。

Fresh fruit and vegetables generally move from the French port at Calais to the British port at Dover. These products are only edible for a few days. A slowdown at either side could cause the food to go bad.

新鲜水果和蔬菜通常从法国的加莱港转运到英国的多佛港。这些产品的可食用期只有几天。任何一方的放缓都可能会导致食物变质。

Rycroft said they estimated the cost of preparing for a no-deal Brexit to be as much as $120 million each week. That is because companies would have to find space to store products, use other distributors and accept large losses at ports.

莱克罗夫特表示，他们估计应对无协议脱欧的成本会高达每周1.2亿美元。这是因为各公司必须要找到地方储存产品，动用其它经销商，并接受在港口的大量损失。

Rycroft said that the industry spent a lot of money trying to prepare for the first two Brexit time limits in March and April.

莱克罗夫特表示，该行业在三四月份花费了大量资金试图为英国前两次脱欧做足准备。

A spokeswoman for the government said it was working to support “consumers and businesses in their preparation for Brexit.”

英国政府一位发言人表示，政府在努力支持“消费者和企业为英国脱欧做准备。”

Brexit supporters say there may be some small shortages if there is a no-deal Brexit. But, they argue, Britain’s economy will grow quickly once it is freed from the European Union.

英国脱欧的支持者表示，无协议脱欧可能会造成一些小的短缺。但是他们认为，一旦从欧盟中解放出来，英国的经济将会迅速增长。

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

warehouse – n. a large building used for storing goods

challenge – n. a difficult task or problem

ingredient – n. one of the things that are used to make a food,

perishable – adj. not likely to stay fresh for a long time if not eaten or used

edible – adj. safe to eat

distributor –n. a person or company that supplies stores or businesses with goods

consumer – n. one who buys things