食品安全問題促進外國乳品在中國的發展

Global food and dairy companies are making another round of big bets on China's fast growing dairy sector, seeking to position themselves as safe alternatives after a lethal baby formula scandal burned the industry four years ago.

4年前一個致命的嬰兒配方奶粉醜聞重創中國乳製品行業之後，全球的食品及乳製品公司再一次在中國快速增長的乳品業中投下鉅額賭注，設法將自己塑造成安全食品的形象。

They are lured by projections of 10 percent annual growth for the sector and by Chinese consumers' willingness to pay a premium for foreign brands as they remain wary of local brands' safety records.

他們被中國乳品業預計每年10%的增長速度吸引，而且中國消費者願意多花錢來購買外國品牌，鑑於恐懼中國品牌曾經的安全問題。

Just last week, China's top-selling dairy firm Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co recalled six months' worth of one brand of infant formula after government tests found it was tainted with mercury, a heavy metal that can cause neural damage if ingested.

上個星期，在政府檢測出其被汞污染之後，中國最暢銷的乳品公司內蒙古伊利實業股份有限公司召回了某一類型的嬰兒配方奶粉6個月內生產的產品。汞是一種重金屬，如果攝入可能會導致神經損傷。

The news has sent Yili's stock sliding 14 percent over the last two days to trade at 20.8 yuan a share.

此新聞已經致使伊利的股價在過去兩天內下跌14%，成交價爲每股20.8元。

The latest foreign bet comes from Danish-Swedish dairy group Arla, which said on Friday it would buy what amounts to a 6 percent stake in Yili's main competitor, China Mengniu Dairy Co, from private equity fund Hopu for 1.7 billion Danish crowns ($289 million). The deal lifted Mengniu shares by 7 percent on Monday.

外國乳品的最新舉動來自於丹麥-瑞典合資乳品集團Arla，該公司於週五表示將通過私募股權基金厚朴，購買伊利的主要競爭對手蒙牛乳品公司6%的股份，價格爲17億丹麥克朗（2.89億美元）。該交易使得蒙牛的股價週一上漲了7%。

"If you have an international brand, then there's a premium in the market, because food safety is a concern," said Kevin Bellamy, dairy analyst at Rabobank in the Netherlands.

“如果你擁有一個國際品牌，那麼在市場上就可以賣的貴一些，因爲人們擔心食品安全問題，”荷蘭拉博銀行的乳品業分析師Kevin Bellamy說。

For some global milk producers, finding new markets is also crucial as they consolidate and expand production faster than their traditional, and mature, milk markets can grow.

對於一些全球乳品廠商來說，他們發現新興市場同樣至關重要，因爲新興市場鞏固和擴大生產要比傳統、成熟市場增長的更快。

Milk and formula safety became a deep concern for Chinese parents after a 2008 scandal in which at least six babies died and 300,000 were sickened from drinking milk formula contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in fertilizer and plastic.

自從2008年醜聞發生後，牛奶及配方奶粉的安全變成了中國父母們深深關切的問題。那次事件中，由於飲用被三聚氰胺（用於肥料和塑料的一種化學品）污染的配方奶粉，至少有6名嬰兒死亡，30萬名嬰兒患病。

But investing in China can mean reputational risk for international dairy firms. In 2008 Arla, which already has a formula joint venture with Mengniu, had to reassure its international customers that it did not sell Chinese-produced products elsewhere, after production at the Chinese plant was temporarily suspended due to the melamine scandal.

但是投資於中國對於國際乳品公司來說也意味着名譽風險。2008年，Arla 就已經同蒙牛合資建立了一個配方奶粉的合資企業，由於三聚氰胺醜聞，那個中國工廠被暫停生產，此後，Arla不得不向它的國際客戶保證，不會向其它地區出售中國生產的產品。

In addition, Mengniu last year destroyed milk tainted with aflatoxin, a carcinogenic mould found in corn grown in humid climates.

此外，蒙牛去年銷燬了被黃麴黴毒素污染的牛奶，黃麴黴毒素通常生長於潮溼環境下的穀物上。

"To be a minority shareholder in a food company in China, regardless of the quality of your partner, you're still exposed to the supply chain," said dairy consultant David Mahon, head of Mahon China Investment Management, referring to the Arla/Mengnui deal.

“在中國食品公司中做一個小股東，不管你的合作伙伴是什麼質量的，你都需要參與整個供應鏈，”馬洪中國投資管理公司的乳品顧問大衛·馬洪在談到Arla與蒙牛的交易時說。

"The lesson from melamine would not have been learned, and that would be a pity."

“如果不能被吸取三聚氰胺的教訓，那就太遺憾了。”