世界最佳大米头衔有助于促进柬埔寨大米出口

    From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

    For the third straight year, the World Rice Conference has voted Cambodian rice as the world's best. This year Cambodia shares the award with Thailand.
    世界大米大会连续第三年将柬埔寨大米评为“全球最佳”。今年柬埔寨和泰国共同获得了该奖项。

    Cambodia produced just one percent of the world's rice in 2012. It is trying to increase that amount. The award may help.
    2012年柬埔寨生产的大米只占到全球的1%。该国正试图增加产量,该奖项可能会有帮助。

    The country's rice industry is small and not well-organized. As a result, large amounts of unmilled, or unprocessed, rice is sent to Thailand and Vietnam where it is sold for a higher price. But rice is very important to Cambodia's economy. Many Cambodians survive in part by growing rice on small pieces of land.
    该国的大米产业规模很小,也没有得到良好组织。其结果就是,大量未经加工的大米被送往泰国和越南,并在那里卖出更高的价格。但是大米对柬埔寨经济非常重要。许多柬埔寨人依靠在小块土地上种植大米勉强度日。

    Sok Puthyvuth is the president of the Cambodia Rice Federation.
    Sok Puthyvuth是柬埔寨大米联合会的会长。

    "We need better seeds, we need a better collection process, we need better storage, we need better logistics, and also our exports need to brand Cambodian rice to be one of the top brand(s) in the world."
    他说,“我们需要更好的种子,更好的收割流程,更好的储藏和更好的物流。此外我们的出口需要将柬埔寨大米打造成全球顶级品牌之一。”

    The group has set a target of one million tons of milled rice exported by 2015. So far this year, Cambodia has exported around 400,000 tons, mostly to European Union countries.
    该组织已经设定了2015年出口百万吨精米的目标。今年截至目前,柬埔寨已经出口了40万吨左右的大米,其中大部分出口到了欧盟国家。

    Keat Chhon is Cambodia's deputy prime minister. He says increasing rice exports will improve the lives of many of the country's farmers.
    柬埔寨副总理吉春(Keat Chhon)表示,增加大米出口将能改善该国许多农民的生活。

    He says the purpose of the rice policy is to reduce poverty and help people in rural areas earn more. This shrinks the development gap between rural and urban areas.
    他说,大米政策的目标是减少贫困并帮助农村地区的人们多赚钱。这能缩小城乡之间的发展差距。

    China is loaning the country $300 million to help Cambodia develop its rice industry, including improving storage.
    中国向该国提供3亿美元贷款用于帮助柬埔寨发展其大米产业,其中包括改善大米储藏。

    But exporter David Van says the country's rice industry continues to suffer from the same problems it has had for many years. He says these include the high cost of electricity and a lack of good seeds. And he says the country's rice industry needs to change the way it markets its product to show it is different from what other countries offer.
    但出口商大卫·范(David Van)表示,该国的大米产业仍然面临着多年以来一直存在的问题,其中就包括电力成本高,缺乏优质种子。他还表示,该国的大米行业必须改变产品销售方式,以便与其它国家有所区分。

    "You need to differentiate your product from your competitor next door. Otherwise, you will keep on being compared automatically to what the next-door competitor is offering."
    他说,“我们的产品必须同隔壁竞争对手有所区分。否则就只能继续被和隔壁竞争对手对比。”

    Cambodia faces other problems. Countries like Myanmar also want to increase their rice exports. And, Thailand has extra rice, which is forcing down prices.
    柬埔寨还面临着其它问题。缅甸等国家也希望增加他们的大米出口。此外,泰国大米产量过剩,使得价格被压低。

    The award for best rice may help Cambodia grow its exports even if it does not reach its million-ton target next year. And that will help the industry and millions of Cambodia's poor farmers.
    最佳大米奖可能有助于柬埔寨发展其出口,即使它未能达到其百万吨级的目标。而且这将会对该行业和柬埔寨数百万贫困农民有帮助。

    And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. I'm Marsha James.
    以上就是本期美国之音慢速英语农业报道的全部内容。我是玛莎·詹姆斯(Marsha James)。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利,未经授权请勿转载,违者必究!)