VOA慢速英语2011--Issues Slow Recovery of Kenya's Cotton I

Agriculture Report - Issues Slow Recovery of Kenya's Cotton Industry

农业报道 - 延缓肯尼亚棉花产业复苏的一些问题

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Real estate agents usually handle property sales for other people. But ten years ago David Masika, an agent in Kenya, bought a cotton mill for himself.

不动产经纪人通常为客户处理产权交易。但十年前，肯尼亚的一位经纪人大卫·玛什卡（David Masika）为自己买了一家棉纺厂。

The mill was Makueni Ginneries in Eastern province. It was operating with technology from the nineteen sixties. It produced only two hundred kilos of cotton in its first year under new ownership.

这家工厂就是东部省份的Makueni轧棉厂，它采用的是20世纪60年代的技术。在新老板旗下的第一年，这家工厂仅生产了200公斤棉花。

Last year Makueni Ginneries sold six hundred thousand kilos, or about one thousand bales. It made its first profit since Mr. Masika bought it.

去年，Makueni轧棉厂销售了60万公斤，约1万包棉花。这是玛什卡先生购买这家工厂后的首次盈利。

Business is good -- world prices for cotton are up. But David Masika worried that he might not have enough cotton to process if he invested in new technology.

生意不错--世界棉花价格有所上涨。但玛什卡担心，如果他投资采用新技术，可能没有足够多的棉花原料用于生产。

DAVID MASIKA: “We got into this vicious circle where we then were wondering, do I completely modernize 1 this thing when I do not know whether the cotton is coming?”

玛什卡：“我们进入了这样一种恶性循环，随之我们想知道，在不确定棉花原料能否跟得上时，是否要完成工厂的现代化？”

Makueni is one of only four modern ginneries in the country. Kenya's cotton industry used to be strong. But almost twenty years ago a government agency collapsed 2. That agency had provided growers with a guaranteed price for cotton. Without that support, prices fell and so did production.

Makueni是全国仅有的四家现代化轧棉厂之一。肯尼亚的棉花产业曾经非常强大。但近20年前，一个政府机构倒台了。该机构此前为棉农的棉花提供收购保护价。失去了这个机构的支持，棉花价格开始下跌，产量也随之下降。 

Today, Kenya is part of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. AGOA is an American law first signed in two thousand. The goal is to help strengthen African economies by expanding American markets. It provides duty-free and quota-free treatment for certain clothing and other products.

今天，肯尼亚是《非洲增长与机遇法案》（African Growth and Opportunity Act，简称AGOA）的一部分。AGOA是美国2000年首次签署的一项法案，目的是通过扩大美国市场以帮助强化非洲经济。它给予特定服装和其它产品免税免配额待遇。

Kenya says its clothing exports tripled from two thousand one to two thousand six. But Kenya's cotton and textile industry is concerned about meeting future requirements of the law.

肯尼亚表示，2001年到2006年服装出口增加了两倍。但肯尼亚的棉花和纺织行业对满足未来法律要求非常担忧。

AGOA countries have been operating under what is called a third-country fabric 3 provision. This lets them use yarns 4 and fabrics 5 made in any country, not just AGOA countries. But starting next September those countries must be able to find the raw materials for their products regionally.

AGOA国家一直基于所谓的第三国布料条款（third-country fabric provision）运作。这一条款允许他们使用任何国家生产的纱线和布料，而不仅仅是AGOA国家。但明年9月起，这些国家必须为他们的产品找到本地区的原材料。

Kenya's cotton industry wants the United States Congress to extend the third-country fabric provision. Micah Powon is chief executive of the Cotton Development Board.

肯尼亚棉花行业希望美国国会延长第三国布料条款的期限。Micah Powon是棉花发展委员会首席行政官。

MICAH POWON: “If [we get] an extension period of two or three years by AGOA, I confidently say that we will be able to produce enough cotton to meet local demand to qualify for the AGOA market.”

MICAH POWON：“如果我们获得AGOA两到三年的延期，我自信地说，我们将能够生产足够多的棉花，来满足为了获得AGOA市场资格的本地化需求。”

African countries face not only a limited cotton supply and poor machinery 6. They also face problems with making cotton into fabric to produce clothing. Under AGOA, fabric is considered a raw resource that has to come from African countries instead of places like China.

非洲国家面临的不仅是棉花供应吃紧和机器落后，还面临着将棉花制成布料以生产服装的问题。在AGOA法案下，布料被认为是一种必须来自非洲国家的原材料，而不是来自中国等其它国家。

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Jim Tedder 7.

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Contributing: Cathy Majtenyi