VOA常速英语2007年-Burkina's Cotton Production Down Due to Poor Ra

By Nico Colombant
Dakar
04 December 2007

Burkina Faso's cotton production this year has decreased due to inconsistent rains and high oil prices, frustrating¹ executives and farmers in sub-Saharan Africa's leading cotton producer. VOA's Nico Colombant reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar that the plummeting² U.S. dollar and subsidies³ to American cotton growers are also adding to the industry's woes⁴.

"We are not satisfied with the production this year," said CelestinTiendrebeogo, the director general of Sofitex, one of three major Burkinabe cotton-producing companies. "We had a bad season. We did not have good rains this year and production is going at a loss."

Production at Sofitex has been estimated at about 380,000 tons for seed cotton, much lower than the expected 600,000 tons, an opportunity missed according to Tiendrebeogo.

"The price of cotton on international markets is going up. It would be a good thing for us to have a better production. This is the reason why I think we are not very happy," said Tiendrebeogo.

Numbers from Burkina Faso's two other major companies, Fasocoton and Socoma, were not immediately available.

Another long-standing reason Burkinabe producers and farmers are not very happy is due to what they view as unfair competition from highly-subsidized American rivals. Burkina Faso produces just six percent of U.S. output, and its producers say they lose out on profit margins⁵ because of American subsidies.

Most of Sofitex cotton is exported to China, making Burkina Faso, China's third-biggest supplier of cotton after the United States and Uzbekistan, according to Tiendrebeogo.

On a recent visit to Burkina Faso, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said the United States will reduce subsidies on its massive cotton industry, but only if the European Union starts doing the same.

In terms of pressing local matters, a Sofitex executive, Abdramane Thiombiano says Burkinabe farmers are worried about their ability to pay back their lines of credit. He says Sofitex is negotiating with banks, and looking at the problem on a case-by-case basis.

Some farmers stopped producing cotton because their operating costs, due to high oil prices, went up an estimated 30 percent, while cotton prices offered to farmers went down, by at least 10 percent.

Thiombiano says farmers will be seeking assistance from the government and lawmakers to compensate⁶ for their losses.

The rapidly plunging⁷ U.S dollar is also adding to the problem.

Cotton from companies like Sofitex is bought and sold on the world market in U.S. dollars. Farmers are paid in CFA francs, the euro-pegged local currency of 14 western and central African countries. Compared with a year ago, the dollars their crops fetch in world markets buy about nine percent fewer CFA francs for food and shelter in local economies.

Thiombiano says they also want laws authorizing⁸ them to plant genetically⁹ modified cotton, which he says would improve their productivity, while decreasing some of their costs.

Economists¹⁰ say it is highly likely Burkina Faso will become the second African country, after South Africa, to allow large-scale production of modified cotton, after several years of experimentation¹¹.

Negotiations¹² are still ongoing¹³ with the U.S.-based Monsanto company, the world's leading producer of genetically engineered seed, to determine seed prices for Burkinabe farmers.

1 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

3 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

5 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

6 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

7 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 authorizing   

授权，批准，委托( authorize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Letters of Marque: Take letters from a warning friendly power authorizing privateering. 私掠许可证：从某一个国家获得合法抢劫的证书。
• Formal phavee completion does not include authorizing the subsequent phavee. 阶段的正式完成不包括核准随后的阶段。

9 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

10 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

12 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

13 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。