澳洲女首富竭力推動對華牛肉出口

Gina Rinehart has faced down larger rivals, bureaucrats and even family to build Hancock Prospecting into a mining force. Now Australia’s richest woman is tackling a tiny foe that could derail a A$1bn plan to ship live cattle to China.

為將漢考克勘探公司(Hancock Prospecting)打造成一家采礦業(yè)巨擘，吉娜•萊因哈特(Gina Rinehart)戰(zhàn)勝了比自己強大的對手，克服了官僚機構(gòu)設(shè)置的種種障礙，甚至還頂住了來自家人的阻力。今天，這位澳大利亞女首富面對的敵人是區(qū)區(qū)小昆蟲，因為這些家伙有讓價值10億澳元、向中國出口活牛的計劃泡湯的危險。

The culicoides midge transmits bluetongue — a virus that affects livestock and is endemic in northern Australia, a vast area of rolling pasture larger than France, Spain and Italy combined. Mrs Rinehart owns several cattle stations in the region and wants to export up to 300,000 live cattle a year to meet surging meat demand in China.

庫蠓會傳播藍舌病——這種病毒會令牲畜感染，面積大于法國、西班牙和意大利國土面積總和的澳大利亞北部地區(qū)是藍舌病的流行區(qū)域。萊因哈特在這個遍地牧場的地區(qū)擁有多個養(yǎng)牛場，并計劃每年向中國出口多達30萬頭活牛，以滿足中國急劇增長的肉類需求。

“Many people are aware of the changing demographics in China,” Mrs Rinehart told the Financial Times. “A rapidly expanding middle class have increasing disposable incomes as China’s economic growth continues. These are people wanting more prime cuts and fresh beef.”

“許多人都注意到了中國人口結(jié)構(gòu)的不斷變化，” 萊因哈特對《金融時報》記者說，“隨著中國經(jīng)濟的持續(xù)增長，中產(chǎn)階級群體在快速擴大，其可支配收入不斷增加。他們對優(yōu)質(zhì)新鮮牛肉的需求越來越大。”

The strategy plays to Canberra’s ambition to capitalise on China’s “dining boom” and transform its agricultural industry to become a food bowl for Asia. But first it must persuade Chinese regulators to loosen quarantine rules at a time when Beijing is prioritising food safety after a series of health scandals.

為了充分利用中國的“食品消費熱潮”，澳大利亞政府制定了雄心勃勃的計劃，要將其農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展成為亞洲食品生產(chǎn)基地——萊因哈特為公司制定的策略正是順應政府的這一雄心。在爆出一系列食品安全丑聞后，中國政府將食品安全作為重中之重，而澳大利亞政府首先必須在這樣一個時候說服中國監(jiān)管機構(gòu)放松檢疫規(guī)定。

Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of live cattle, shipping about A$1.5bn of livestock a year to countries including Indonesia, Vietnam and Israel. But exporters want to kick-start a China trade to diversify their markets in a volatile industry still licking its wounds from a ban on exports to Indonesia in 2011 over animal welfare concerns.

澳大利亞是全球最大的活牛出口國之一，每年向印度尼西亞、越南和以色列等國家出口約15億澳元的活牛。肉牛養(yǎng)殖是一個動蕩的行業(yè)。2011年，澳大利亞因印尼屠宰手段引發(fā)動物福利關(guān)切而禁止向印尼出口活牛，澳大利亞肉牛養(yǎng)殖行業(yè)至今還未從這一禁令的打擊中恢復。為了開辟多元化市場，出口商期望做成中國的生意。

A bilateral trade deal signed in 2014 and a subsequent agreement on a health protocol created a framework for live exports. But onerous quarantine restrictions imposed by China on cattle from bluetongue regions continue to make the trade uneconomic from northern Australia, which hosts 60 per cent of the country’s herd.

中澳兩國于2014年簽署的雙邊貿(mào)易協(xié)定、以及隨后簽署的一項牲畜貿(mào)易健康協(xié)議，為活牛出口制定了框架。但是，中國對藍舌病流行區(qū)的活牛實施的嚴格檢疫限制，仍然令澳大利亞北部地區(qū)的活牛出口無法實現(xiàn)經(jīng)濟效益，而該地區(qū)的活牛存欄量占澳大利亞總量的60%。

“China is a massive, massive market. [But] in the China market there is a focus on bluetongue,” said Stuart Kemp, chief executive of the Northern Territory Livestock Exporters Association.

“中國是一個非常非常龐大的市場。[但是]中國市場對藍舌病的關(guān)注度非常高，”北領(lǐng)地畜牧出口商協(xié)會(Northern Territory Livestock Exporters Association)首席執(zhí)行官斯圖爾特•肯普(Stuart Kemp)說。

Mr Kemp says that Australia has not experienced the most severe cases of the disease, which can affect livestock’s economic performance by preventing them from gaining weight and can be fatal in sheep. He understood the Chinese authorities’ initial caution but is hopeful Beijing will open the trade to northern Australia — a move that could prompt an investment bonanza in a struggling regional economy.

肯普還指出，澳大利亞沒有出現(xiàn)過最嚴重的藍舌病病例，這種病可能令牲畜無法增加體重、并導致綿羊死亡，從而影響牲畜養(yǎng)殖的經(jīng)濟效益。對中國政府初期采取審慎措施，他表示理解。但他希望北京能夠開放與澳大利亞北部地區(qū)的貿(mào)易——對于處于困境的該地區(qū)經(jīng)濟而言，此舉可能會掀起一波投資熱潮。

Some companies have made a few one-off live cattle shipments to China from southern Australia, outside the bluetongue zone. But the greater shipment distances have so far failed to spur exporters to create a viable industry, with just 1,200 animals exported to China in the past year.

有些公司已從澳大利亞南部的非藍舌病流行區(qū)向中國出口了少量批次的活牛。但是，到目前為止，由于出口批次稀疏，出口商沒有動力將對華出口發(fā)展為一項具有經(jīng)濟效益的業(yè)務——過去這一年澳大利亞向中國出口活牛數(shù)量僅為1200頭。

Mrs Rinehart, who made her fortune feeding China’s insatiable demand for iron ore, has teamed up with four Chinese companies — Sino-Australia Modern Industry Park, New Hope Group, Zhejiang Seaport Group and Harvest Fund — in an effort to change the cattle trade’s economics by enabling shipments from northern Australia. The strategy depends on Chinese officials relaxing the 60-day pre-export quarantine restrictions for cattle from bluetongue areas. 在中國對鐵礦石

需求旺盛的那些年，萊因哈特賺了個盆滿缽滿。現(xiàn)在，為了促成澳大利亞北部向中國出口活牛、從而改變養(yǎng)牛業(yè)的經(jīng)濟狀況，她與中澳現(xiàn)代產(chǎn)業(yè)園(Sino-Australia Modern Industry Park)、新希望集團(New Hope Group)、浙江海港集團(Zhejiang Seaport Group)以及嘉實基金(Harvest Fund)這4家中國公司建立了合作關(guān)系。這一策略的實施還有取決于中國政府放寬如下限制：對從藍舌病流行區(qū)出口的活牛，需隔離檢疫60天。

“The key to the development of the live cattle trade is gaining long-term secure access to a major new market . . . a market of 200m people within a radius of 200km living in the Yangtze Delta region,” said Garry Korte, chief executive of Hancock. “We are still working through several regulatory matters.”

“發(fā)展活牛貿(mào)易的關(guān)鍵是獲得進入一個大型新市場的長期、牢靠的準入權(quán)……在200公里的半徑內(nèi)居住著2億居民的長江三角洲地區(qū)就是這樣的市場。我們?nèi)栽诮鉀Q幾項監(jiān)管問題，” 漢考克首席執(zhí)行官加里•科特(Garry Korte)說。

In an effort to overcome Chinese regulators’ concerns, Hancock has formed a joint venture, Auzou Beef, with its Chinese partners to build a cattle receiving and processing facility on Jintang island near Shanghai. Jintang forms the centrepiece of a proposed Sino-Australian industrial park pitched as a gateway for agricultural and other exports into China. “As a beef processing hub, the island of Jintang is very unique because it can meet the highest biosecurity and animal welfare standards,” said Alex Zhang, director of Auzou Beef.

為了消除中國監(jiān)管機構(gòu)的顧慮，漢考克已經(jīng)與中國合作伙伴組建了一家名為Auzou Beef的合資公司，計劃在浙江省舟山市金塘島興建一個活牛接收和加工中心。金塘島是中澳現(xiàn)代產(chǎn)業(yè)園計劃的重頭戲，該產(chǎn)業(yè)園的目標是成為農(nóng)產(chǎn)品和其他產(chǎn)品出口至中國的門戶。Auzou Beef的總監(jiān)Alex Zhang說：“金塘島作為牛肉加工中心的獨特之處在于，它不僅能夠達到最高的生物安全標準，而且也能夠達到最高的動物福利標準。”

Mr Zhang says the China-Australia relationship needs to evolve from simple trade into more integrated industry co-operation.

張先生表示，中澳貿(mào)易關(guān)系需要從簡單貿(mào)易向更加一體化的行業(yè)合作轉(zhuǎn)變。

In Coomalie, an hour south of Darwin, Mr Kemp provides a tour of a new quarantine station with cutting-edge traceability technology that helps monitor cattle throughout their journey from farms in Northern Australia to retailers in Vietnam and Indonesia.

在達爾文以南一小時車程的庫瑪麗(Coomalie)，肯普帶領(lǐng)我們參觀了一個新的檢疫站。該站采用最尖端的可溯源技術(shù)，讓活牛從澳大利亞北部地區(qū)的農(nóng)場、到越南和印度尼西亞零售商手中的全過程都可追溯。

“This station has technology similar to the facial recognition systems used in airports,” he said. “We would want to build facilities specifically for the Chinese market if the trade takes off.”

“這個檢疫站擁有有類似于機場使用的面部識別技術(shù)，”肯特說，“如果對華出口起飛，我們要為中國市場專門興建檢疫場。”

Similar quarantine facilities, along with feedlots and processing facilities, would be established on Jintang island in a bid to satisfy Chinese regulators that the bluetongue virus poses no danger.

為了讓中國監(jiān)管部門確信澳大利亞活牛不會帶來藍舌病毒風險，金塘島上還會建立類似的檢疫站、以及育肥場和加工廠。

“The receiving depot will be on an island, not mainland China, providing an effective quarantine for any bluetongue,” said Mr Korte. “We were encouraged to proceed with a deal because we know we have the backing of the Australia and Chinese governments based on their principles detailed within the China free-trade agreement.”

“為了對藍舌病進行有效檢疫，我們會將接收倉庫建在島上，而不是中國陸地上，” 科特說， “我們對推進交易非常有信心，因為我們知道，我們會得到澳中兩國政府根據(jù)中國自由貿(mào)易協(xié)定中確定的詳細原則所給予的支持。”

China’s quarantine agency did not respond to a request for comment; Hancock and its Chinese partners are hopeful a decision will be made by the end of the year.

中國的檢疫部門沒有回復我們的置評請求。漢考克及其中國合作伙伴希望中國政府能夠在今年年底前作出決定。