去中國種咖啡 罕見的勞務輸入

China has traditionally been famous for its fragrant teas, but the country is emerging as a key Asian producer of a different beverage: quality arabica Coffee.

在傳統上，中國以出產芳香的茶葉而聞名。如今，中國卻日漸成爲阿拉比卡咖啡豆（arabica，亦稱小粒咖啡）這種截然不同的飲品在亞洲的重要生產國。

Known for its light body and fruity aroma, the coffee from the southwestern province of Yunnan has become a staple of European arabica blends, say international commodity traders and roasters.

這種咖啡豆以輕巧的形體和芬芳的果香聞名於世。國際大宗商品交易商和烘焙商表示，產自中國西南省份雲南省的阿拉比卡咖啡豆，已成爲歐洲阿拉比卡咖啡的主要混合原料。

“The mild taste and aroma is similar to the beans from Honduras or Guatemala,” said Wouter DeSmet, head of Nestlé’s coffee agricultural services team in China.

雀巢(Nestlé)在華咖啡農業服務團隊主管沃特•德梅(Wouter DeSmet)表示：“那種清淡的口感和芳香與產自洪都拉斯和危地馬拉的咖啡豆十分類似。”

An increasing number of Yunnan farmers are turning to coffee, which offers higher returns compared with other crops. In 2012, farmers’ income from coffee was double that for tea grown on the same acreage, according to Mr DeSmet.

與其他作物相比，咖啡更高的回報正促使越來越多的雲南農民轉種咖啡。按照德梅的說法，2012年農民從咖啡中獲得的收入是同等種植面積下茶葉的兩倍。

Nestlé started operations in Yunnan in the late 1980s, offering training and purchasing coffee from growers. Since 2005, the number of its suppliers has grown from 147 to 2,000.

上世紀80年代末，雀巢在雲南開展業務，向咖啡種植者提供培訓服務，並收購他們的咖啡。自2005年以來，該公司供應商的數目已從147家增加到2000家。

For the whole Yunnan region, known for its lush hills, 80,000 farmers grow the crop, with many now growing both tea and coffee. The bulk of coffee produced in Asia – mainly in Vietnam and Indonesia – is robusta, the lower quality bean used in instant coffee.

整個雲南地區以草木繁盛的山丘而聞名，該地區種植咖啡的農民有8萬人，許多人如今同時種植着茶葉和咖啡。目前，亞洲生產的咖啡主要產自越南和印尼，以羅布斯塔(robusta)咖啡豆爲主，這是一種用來生產速溶咖啡的較低品質咖啡豆。

Arabica, mainly used in cappuccinos and espressos, was introduced into Yunnan by a French missionary in the late 1880s. But coffee production only took off 100 years later with the investment of the Chinese government and the UN Development Programme.

相比之下，阿拉比卡咖啡豆則主要用於製作卡布奇諾和濃縮咖啡(espresso)。這種咖啡豆是在19世紀80年代末，由一位法國傳教士引入雲南的。然而，直到一百年後，咖啡產量纔在中國政府和聯合國開發計劃署(UN Development Programme)的投資下迅速提高起來。

Chinese coffee exports have grown steadily over the past decade, with volumes rising from 137,000 60kg bags in 1998 to 1.1m 60kg bags in 2012 – on a par with Costa Rica and just under 1 per cent of the world total.

過去十年裏，中國咖啡出口量一直在穩步增長，從1998年的13.7萬袋（每袋60公斤）增長至2012年的110萬袋。這與哥斯達黎加的出口量相等，佔全球總出口量的比例略低於1%。

In order to source their coffee, international coffee groups and commodity traders are starting to set up operations in Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

爲採購咖啡，國際咖啡集團和大宗商品交易商正着手在毗鄰越南、老撾和緬甸的雲南省設立業務。

Volcafe, the Swiss coffee trading arm of commodity house ED&F Man, is the latest company to enter a procurement and processing joint venture agreement with Simao Arabicasm Coffee Company, a local group. They follow Starbucks, which formed a venture with Yunnan based agribusiness Ai Ni Group in 2012.

最新一家與雲南當地企業達成咖啡採購和加工合資協議的企業是瑞士的Volcafe公司。該公司是大宗商品交易商ED&F Man旗下的咖啡交易公司。和它達成合資協議的雲南當地企業名爲思茅阿拉比卡星咖啡公司(Simao Arabicasm Coffee Company)。在它們之前，星巴克(Starbucks)在2012年與雲南愛伲農牧集團(Ai Ni Group)組建了合資公司。

The boom in production comes as coffee drinking in China is growing at about 15 per cent a year, compared with about 2 per cent for the world.

就在咖啡產量迅猛增長的同時，中國的咖啡飲用量也在以每年約15%的幅度快速增長。相比之下，全球咖啡飲用量的增速只有大約2%。