2007年VOA标准英语-Burkinabe Cotton Sector Nears Bankruptcy

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
26 January 2007

Trade ministers are meeting on the sidelines at the World Economic Forum¹ meeting in Davos, Switzerland. For the trade ministers, the fate of the so-called Doha talks to slash² trade subsidies³ has again become a hot topic as G-8 countries assess promises made to help Africa. In West Africa in particular, cotton growers are interested in the talks as their industry now appears close to financial disaster. Phuong Tran reports from VOA's West Africa bureau in Dakar.

Three cotton buying associations in Burkina Faso - one of Africa's top cotton producing countries - say they are near bankruptcy⁴. They have not paid cotton producers for the 700,000 tons of cotton purchased in 2006.

A Burkinabese farmer stands by cotton bolls in Pama, central Burkina Faso, 22 Jan 2007

Because of shifts in textile production that have made China and India global leaders in cotton production, other cotton-growing countries are now battling for what is left of the market. As a result, Americans, the richest cotton growers in the world, are competing directly with Africans, the world's poorest. And African growers say the competition is not fair. They say cotton subsidies given to farmers in the United States and European Union make it even harder for Africa to compete on the world market.

Cotton farmer Seydou Ouedrago says business has been slow as he waits for his payment.

"We live by cotton. It would be so easy for them to lift their subsidies," he said. "If cotton producers are not able to make a living, how are we supposed to take our children to school? How do we cure our children when they are sick? How do we feed them? How can we give them a better life than we had? We already live on less than one dollar per day. "

But the U.S. trade representative for Africa, Flori Liser, says that doing away with subsidies alone cannot solve the problems of Africa's farmers.

"One reason you continue to hear the clamor because frankly⁵ it is a political issue, it is a good sound bite to say that U.S. subsidies are affecting the farmers. But there are a whole range of other issues," she said.

She says that the middlemen in Africa are part of the problem because they charge prices that do not allow the producers to cover costs. She also says other developing nations have higher yields of cotton than Africans because they use irrigation systems and fertilizers.

The United States has already agreed to repeal⁶ major cotton subsidies as a result of a case that Brazil brought against it in the World Trade Organization. But the repeal does not go into full effect for another six years.

U.S. trade representative Liser says that the United States will continue to provide its farmers with some subsidies until other countries agree to do away with theirs, which was one issue that stalled the Doha trade talks last year.

Four of Africa's major cotton producers, Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, known as the C-4 countries, appealed to the World Trade Organization for compensation from rich countries until these subsidies are completely eliminated.

The U.S. recently announced that it will give farmers in Senegal and the C-4 countries $27 million over three years for cotton reform initiatives. But Burkinabe cotton farmer Ouedrago says this is not enough.

"We recognize the [U.S.] gesture, but the money is not enough to cover our losses caused by subsidies," he said. "This is simply a way of masking the real problem."

Experts say the World Trade Organization's Doha round needs a breakthrough in the next few months if U.S. lawmakers are to renew the Bush administration's trade negotiating powers, due to expire in July. Without a breakthrough, the talks could be delayed for years or even collapse⁷. Supporters of the talks say if there is a collapse their hopes of easing poverty in developing world would suffer a serious blow.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 slash   

vi.大幅度削减；vt.猛砍，尖锐抨击，大幅减少；n.猛砍，斜线，长切口，衣衩

参考例句：

• The shop plans to slash fur prices after Spring Festival.该店计划在春节之后把皮货降价。
• Don't slash your horse in that cruel way.不要那样残忍地鞭打你的马。

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 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。