VOA慢速英语2014 对埃博拉病毒的恐惧,影响亚洲大米的出口

 

AS IT IS 2014-09-12 Ebola Fears Affect Asian Rice Export

The growing number of Ebola cases in Africa is having an effect on farmers, exporters and shipping¹ companies in Asia.

The rice industry in Thailand is among the first to be severely² affected³. Africa is an important market for Thailand’s rice. But the industry is having difficulty meeting the demand because of worries about Ebola.

Thai exporters say Africans eat nine million tons of rice every year. Two-thirds of that is imported. The exporters are having trouble shipping rice to ports in West Africa. The reason: ship owners cannot find crewmembers to work on ships sailing to those ports. Some crewmembers fear they will become infected with the Ebola virus if they travel to West Africa.  

Vichai Sriprasert is an official with the Thai Rice Exporters Association.

“Merchants in West Africa are trying to build up stocks to meet the requirements during Christmas sales. They have to buy now in order to have enough stock, but if we cannot find enough vessels⁴ to go there this would jeopardize⁵ the whole trade situation.”

Thailand has already shipped more than 3.3 million tons of rice to Africa this year. That is almost as much as it shipped in all of 2013. The top importers of rice in Africa are Benin, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Cameroon, Mozambique and Nigeria.

Thai exporters’ storage areas are now full of rice. Mr. Vichai says that is causing problems for everyone in the rice industry, including farmers.

“We cannot release the rice out of the warehouse⁶, and also cannot buy rice from the millers⁷. And the millers’ warehouses⁸ are also filled up. If they cannot sell to exporters they also cannot buy from the farmers. The price of rice from the farmer also has to drop because not too many people can afford to buy. There’s no place to keep the stocks.”

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says food prices are rising in countries affected by the deadly virus. It says some African farmers cannot work in their fields. And it says food imported by ship and air is now not likely to arrive as often.

Vijay Satia is a former president of the All India Rice Exporters Association. He says shipping companies will still be able to transport food from Asia to Africa, but at a higher cost.

“People will ship their material to the alternative ports where this problem is less, maybe taking their material by road or by rail. So costs of rice for the consumer can go up and price for the exporters to the lower side.”

Shipping industry experts say fewer ships have been arriving at some African ports. They say the problem of crews refusing to work on ships going to those ports has yet to become a crisis. But they say some cargo⁹ ship owners are growing increasingly worried. The owners fear that if their ships enter ports in countries where Ebola is present, the next port may refuse to accept their ship.

The experts say they have yet to note problems with shipments of major exports such as bauxite¹⁰, aluminum¹¹ and iron ore from mineral-rich West Africa.

But a Nigerian newspaper says European ship owners have increased rates for cargo and crews sailing to the African countries fighting Ebola.

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

6 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

7 millers   

n.（尤指面粉厂的）厂主( miller的名词复数 )；磨房主；碾磨工；铣工

参考例句：

• Millers and bakers sought low grain prices. 磨粉厂主和面包师寻求低廉的谷物价格。 来自辞典例句
• He told me he already been acquainted with the Millers. 他跟我说他同米勒一家已经很熟。 来自互联网

8 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

9 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

10 bauxite   

n.铝土矿

参考例句：

• Aluminum is made from bauxite.铝是从铝土矿中提炼出的。
• The United States was vulnerable to shortages of chrome,bauxite,and platinum.美国的弱点是缺少铬、矾土和铂。

11 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。