食品安全问题促进外国乳品在中国的发展

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年前一个致命的婴儿配方奶粉丑闻重创中国乳制品行业之后，全球的食品及乳制品公司再一次在中国快速增长的乳品业中投下巨额赌注，设法将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.

他们被中国乳品业预计每年10%的增长速度吸引，而且中国消费者愿意多花钱来购买外国品牌，鉴于恐惧中国品牌曾经的安全问题。

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.

上个星期，在政府检测出其被汞污染之后，中国最畅销的乳品公司内蒙古伊利实业股份有限公司召回了某一类型的婴儿配方奶粉6个月内生产的产品。汞是一种重金属，如果摄入可能会导致神经损伤。

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

此新闻已经致使伊利的股价在过去两天内下跌14%，成交价为每股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.

外国乳品的最新举动来自于丹麦-瑞典合资乳品集团Arla，该公司于周五表示将通过私募股权基金厚朴，购买伊利的主要竞争对手蒙牛乳品公司6%的股份，价格为17亿丹麦克朗（2.89亿美元）。该交易使得蒙牛的股价周一上涨了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.

“如果你拥有一个国际品牌，那么在市场上就可以卖的贵一些，因为人们担心食品安全问题，”荷兰拉博银行的乳品业分析师Kevin Bellamy说。

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.

对于一些全球乳品厂商来说，他们发现新兴市场同样至关重要，因为新兴市场巩固和扩大生产要比传统、成熟市场增长的更快。

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.

自从2008年丑闻发生后，牛奶及配方奶粉的安全变成了中国父母们深深关切的问题。那次事件中，由于饮用被三聚氰胺（用于肥料和塑料的一种化学品）污染的配方奶粉，至少有6名婴儿死亡，30万名婴儿患病。

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.

但是投资于中国对于国际乳品公司来说也意味着名誉风险。2008年，Arla 就已经同蒙牛合资建立了一个配方奶粉的合资企业，由于三聚氰胺丑闻，那个中国工厂被暂停生产，此后，Arla不得不向它的国际客户保证，不会向其它地区出售中国生产的产品。

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

此外，蒙牛去年销毁了被黄曲霉毒素污染的牛奶，黄曲霉毒素通常生长于潮湿环境下的谷物上。

"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.

“在中国食品公司中做一个小股东，不管你的合作伙伴是什么质量的，你都需要参与整个供应链，”马洪中国投资管理公司的乳品顾问大卫·马洪在谈到Arla与蒙牛的交易时说。

"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训，那就太遗憾了。”