如果在美国逛超市,你会发现猪肚、猪蹄等头蹄下水一般都卖得格外便宜。
这是因为美国的消费者没有吃这些部位的习惯,熘肝尖、爆肚、卤煮,还有炭烤猪蹄、黄豆猪蹄的胶质美味,并不能让美国消费者们感到动心……
Feet, heads, hearts, tongues, kidneys, stomachs, entrails – parts of a pig that most Americans would shun are considered special in China.
猪蹄、猪头、猪心、猪舌、猪腰、猪肚、大肠小肠……这些猪的部位大多数美国人都弃之不食,但在中国情况却颇为不同。
据中国日报驻美记者报道,近日由于贸易战关税的影响,美国向中国出口这些猪部位的销路受阻。
这些部位的猪肉在美国被称为“offal”(猪什)或“variety meats”(头蹄下水),把这些部位出口中国,一直是美国猪农赚钱的好路子:
Those different parts, known collectively as offal or "variety meats", had been a money-making export for US pig farmers in 2017 with $874 million in sales to China, the top buyer of US variety meats last year.
这些不同的部分统称为“猪什”,或“头蹄下水”,2017年,中国购买美国头蹄下水成交量达8.74亿美元,让美国猪农收益颇丰。
但后来,美国向多个国家挥舞“关税大棒”,他国的报复性关税中不少含有“猪肉”(pork)一项:
The US pork industry took a hit after Mexico last month slapped American pig products with a 20 percent tax. China imposed a 25 percent tariff on American pork in April.
上个月,墨西哥向美国猪肉产品加征了20%的关税,打击了美国的猪肉产业。今年四月,中国对美国猪肉征收了25%的关税。
Washington imposed 25 percent duties on $34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6. Beijing responded by imposing similar charges on the same amount of US products, including pork.
7月6日,美国对中国价值340亿美元的商品征收了25%的关税。作为回应,中国也对美国同等价值的商品征收了同等金额的关税,其中就包括猪肉。
中国曾是美国猪蹄、猪头的最大买家
在关税加征前,据全美猪肉生产商协会的统计,中国曾是美国猪蹄和猪头最大的买家。91%的猪蹄(17.5万公吨)和96%的猪头(4.2万公吨)都会销往中国。
据该协会统计,2017年,中国是美国猪肉第四大买家,购买总量达11亿美元,并且是世界最大的猪肉消费国。
但自从关税落下,美国向中国出口的猪肉从数量到价值都下跌得立竿见影……
According to the USDA, US pork exports to Chinese mainland/Hong Kong from the beginning of this year through May were down 18 percent by volume and 6 percent by value. US exports likely continued to fall in June and July, particularly in July since the second 25 percent tariff was imposed on July 6.
美国农业部称,从今年年初到5月,美国出口到中国内地/香港的猪肉总量减少了18%,总额减少了6%。美国的商品出口很可能在6、7月份持续下降,尤其是7月,因为第二轮25%的关税在7月6日开始征收。
头蹄下水销路受阻对猪农打击不小
艾奥瓦州立大学农业经济学家德莫特·海耶斯(Dermot Hayes)称:
"US pork meat and variety meat exports to China have fallen to zero. Moreover, the grey market through Hong Kong is also closed."
“美国出口到中国市场的猪肉和头蹄下水已经降至零,另外,通过香港进入内地的灰色市场也已经关闭了。”
美国不少猪肉生产商都感到了关税的打击。
位于伊利诺伊州的世界最大的猪肉生产商The Maschhoffs董事长Ken Maschhoffs告诉美国媒体《今日美国》,失去中国市场对该公司的头蹄下水是很大的打击:
"It's a real big blow to producers to lose the Chinese market because of the variety meats," Ken Maschhoff told USA Today. "It is a $30 million impact to our operation," he said, making up a third and as much as half his profit.
“失去中国的动物内脏市场对生产商们来说是个巨大的打击。这将对我们的运营造成3千万美元的影响。”这是Maschhoff所在公司三分之一、甚至是一半的收益。
Maschhoffs做了个听上去有些悲观的预估,由于头蹄下水所占利润比重不小,因此,猪农在此环境下最多还可维持两年:
Variety meats make up as much as $5.25 to $5.50 in profit per hog out of the at least $10 per animal that producers need to remain profitable, according to Maschhoff. "I estimate the average hog farmer can only sustain the losses caused by tariffs up to two years," he said.
Maschhoffs称,生产商为保持盈利,每头猪的利润至少为10美元,而其中头蹄下水就占了5.25到5.5美元。他说,“我估计,猪农在关税影响下最多只能维持两年。”
那么如果不能出口到中国,这些猪肉又能怎么处理呢?
据美国肉类出口协会统计,2017年从美国出口到中国的头蹄下水每磅平均价格为76美分。如果经销商们不能把这些头蹄下水卖到其他地方供人食用,那么这些副产品将在美国以每磅18美分的价格处理。
以出口中国的数量计算,每头猪将损失1.55美元。
中国找到替代来源并非难事
据报道,分析家指出,中国找到替代美国的进口地区并非难事。
"The Chinese aren't going to get hurt by this," said Maschhoff, chairman of The Maschhoffs, "Chile or Europe or somebody else is going to say, 'Well, we've got a bunch of stomachs or livers or feet that we're not using...'"
Maschhoffs公司的董事长Maschhoffs说,“中国并不会因此而受到打击,智利、欧洲和其他国家和地区会说,‘我们有一堆用不着的猪肚、猪肝和猪蹄呢’。”
与此同时,美国猪农也在寻找新的市场,力图挽回损失。
American pig farmers are looking at other markets like Japan, South Korea, the Philippines for variety meats, as well as US pet food makers.
美国养猪农民们正在为动物下水寻求其他市场,如日本、韩国、菲律宾等。美国宠物食品制造商也是一个潜在市场所在。
(原创: 双语君 中国日报双语新闻)
(编辑:李雪晴 实习生:宋安康)