英國豬走向中國餐桌 比國內豬肉價格低一倍

Britain’s ailing pig industry will be able to start exporting offal, trotters and other culinary delights to China, the world’s biggest pig meat market, under a breakthrough trade deal to be sealed as early as next week.

根據最早將於下週簽署的一項突破性貿易協議，英國境況不佳的養豬產業將開始向全球最大的豬肉市場——中國——出口豬內臟、豬蹄和其他中國人喜歡的食材。

Jim Paice, the agriculture minister, is heading to Beijing this weekend to put the finishing touches to an agreement that has been five years in the making.

本週末，英國農業大臣吉姆?佩斯(Jim Paice)將赴北京，爲一項磋商了5年的協議敲定最後一筆。

“I’m almost certain that during my visit we will be able to tie up the final loose ends and British pork can be on its way to China,” Mr Paice said. “We estimate we can easily sell ￡50m of pig meat almost at the drop of a hat.”

佩斯表示：“我幾乎可以肯定，在訪問期間，我們能夠解決最後的未決問題，英國豬肉將進入中國。我們估計，英國很容易就可以在短期內向中國賣出5000萬英鎊的豬肉。”

British pig farmers, abattoirs and processors are struggling in the face of high input costs and of pricing constrained by aggressive retailers trying to win over cash-strapped consumers. The industry, which generates a net contribution of ￡300m to the economy, has halved in the past decade.

英國養豬場、屠宰場和加工廠正在艱難應對投入成本高、售價低的問題。咄咄逼人的零售商爲了贏得囊中羞澀的消費者，壓低了豬肉價格。該行業對英國經濟的純貢獻達3億英鎊，但規模在過去10年間已經減少一半。

Sales of the “fifth quarter” – tails, ears and other parts spurned by British diners – would build on a healthy trade in chicken feet and hearts already sold to China.

英國已經向中國大量出口雞爪和雞心，現在，“第五部位”——英國人餐桌上所摒棄的豬尾巴、豬耳朵和豬的其他部位——的出口將爲此錦上添花。

Selling the bits that would otherwise be binned, at a cost, should theoretically fatten the incomes of abattoirs and farmers, said Chris Jackson, export director at the British Pig Association. It should not result in pricier bacon at home.

英國養豬協會(British Pig Association)出口主管克里斯?傑克遜(Chris Jackson)表示，這些部位原本只能以較高的成本丟棄，現在銷往中國，理論上可以增加屠宰場和農民的收入，而且應該不會導致英國國內培根價格上漲。

Chinese farmers sell their pigs for twice as much as their British peers, partly because of the country’s insatiable appetite for all things pork and “because they are not being screwed by the supermarkets – yet”, said Mr Jackson.

中國農民賣豬的價格比英國同行高一倍，這在一定程度上是因爲中國對各種豬肉的胃口難以饜足，還“因爲中國農民還沒有被超市左右——至少目前沒有”，傑克遜指出。

According to the OECD, China produces and consumes half the global output of pig meat. Chinese demand is growing as more wealth translates into more meat on dinner tables. “There is no doubt at all – and the Chinese are quite open about this – that they cannot produce their own pig meat supplies for the foreseeable future,” said Mr Paice.

經合組織(OECD)指出，中國生產和消費全球豬肉產量的一半。隨着中國增長的財富轉化成餐桌上更多的肉製品，中國人對肉類的需求還在繼續增長。佩斯表示：“毫無疑問，在可預見的未來，中國生產的豬肉無法滿足當地需求，中國人對此並不諱言。”

British pigs have greater fertility, with the average sow producing twice as many piglets a year – up to 32 – as her Chinese cousin. That explains the next export agenda: pig semen.

英國豬的繁殖力更強，平均每隻母豬的年產仔量是中國母豬一倍，達到32只。這就滋生了下一個出口計劃——豬精液。

The UK already sells live breeding pigs to China but has struggled to jump through veterinary hoops on semen. Mr Jackson said he will invite Chinese vets next week to make inspections in late July.

英國已經向中國出售活種豬，但豬精液還沒有通過中國獸醫的檢驗。傑克遜表示，下週他將邀請中國獸醫在7月底對英國豬的精液作檢查。

He believes genetics is “what China really wants”. Despite the small size of the British industry Mr Jackson says it is a world leader. “Even America comes to us to buy genetics, mainly pigs but also sheep and cattle.” Genetics improves pig economics, he says. British pigs can be fattened up for the kill in just three months but Chinese pigs take a year – or about 260 additional days of 6kg of cereal-based feed for half-a-billion animals. “Take that away and you can see how the genetics industry can do such a wonderful job for planet Earth,” said Mr Jackson.

他認爲，基因纔是“中國真正想要的”。傑克遜表示，儘管英國養豬產業規模小，卻是全球的佼佼者。“連美國人都跑過來向我們購買基因，主要是豬的基因，不過也有牛羊。”他表示，基因可以改善養豬經濟。英國豬隻要3個月就能養夠膘，屠宰，但中國豬要用1年——即中國的5億頭豬，每頭要用6千克穀物飼料多餵養260天左右。傑克遜表示：“減去這些額外投入，你會發現基因工業可以給行星地球帶來如此美妙的變化。”

While farmers app-laud Westminster’s efforts, even Mr Paice conceded the country has lost a head start. “The fact is we export more food to Belgium than we do to all the Bric countries [Brazil, Russia, India and China] together,” he said. “That’s a pretty damning indictment of our efforts.”

儘管豬農歡迎英國政府的努力，但佩斯也承認，英國已經輸在了起跑線上。他說：“我們出口到比利時的食品都比出口到金磚四國（巴西、俄羅斯、印度和中國）的總量還多。這真是我們工作不足的明證。”