《经济学人》双语：为什么藏红花生意难做？

原文标题 Iranian saffronThe bitter taste of sanctionsThe world’s most valuable spice has been stigmatised伊朗藏红花制裁的苦味世界上最有价值的香料已被污化 Iranian saffron dealers are strugglingLike all their country’s exports, their wares have been stigmatised伊朗藏红花经销商正在苦苦挣扎和他们国家的所有出口产品一样，他们的产品也受到了污蔑Paragraph 1：ALEXANDER THE GREAT stewed in it in the bath, believing that it helped heal wounds. 亚历山大大帝在洒满藏红花的浴缸里泡着，相信它有助于愈合伤口。Roman newly-weds sprinkled it on their beds, hoping for a bit of arousal. 罗马新婚夫妇把它洒在床上，希望藏红花能带来一点浪漫。Today saffron is mainly used to season and colour dishes such as paella. 今天，藏红花主要用于调味和给西班牙炒饭等菜肴上色。But the spice, made of the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus (pictured), is still highly valued. 但这种由藏红花的干柱头制成的香料（如图所示）仍然很有价值。In November a kilo of saffron from Iran, which produces over 90% of the world’s supply, cost $1,400, says an importer in Britain.11月，一名英国进口商表示，一公斤来自伊朗的藏红花价格为1400美元，伊朗的藏红花占世界供应量的90%以上。

Paragraph 2:Yet Iranians in the saffron business are struggling. 然而，从事藏红花生意的伊朗人却在苦苦挣扎。A recent jump in the price has been driven by increasing demand following the shock of the pandemic—but also by drought and rising shipping and labour costs (it takes many hours of picking and stripping to produce a single kilo). 最近价格上涨的原因是流感疫情冲击后需求增加，但也有干旱、运输和劳动力成本上升（生产一公斤需要花费数小时的采摘和剥离）。Then there are America’s sanctions, which aim to cut Iran off from the world economy. 还有美国的制裁，目的是切断伊朗与世界经济的联系。To get around them, Iranian saffron traders often use non-Iranian middlemen, opaque supply chains and complicated payment procedures.为了绕开它们的制裁，伊朗藏红花贸易商经常使用非伊朗中间商、不透明的供应链和复杂的支付程序。Paragraph 3:A kilo of saffron might thus move by courier from Khorasan, the region that produces most of Iran’s crop, to Dubai or Spain, where all references to Iran are scrubbed before it is shipped onwards. 因此，一公斤藏红花可能会通过快递从生产伊朗大部分农作物的霍拉桑地区运送到迪拜或西班牙，在那里，所有提及伊朗的地方都会在运输前擦洗干净。Plenty of funny business can occur along the way. 过程中会产生很多有意思的买卖。Sometimes Iranian saffron is mixed with flower debris or other spices to increase its weight. 有时将伊朗藏红花与花屑或其他香料混合以增加其重量。In February the Spanish police seized 400kg of saffron threads from a smuggling ring that allegedly imported Iranian stuff, added cheaper ingredients and then sold it as a much-beloved variety from La Mancha (which has “protected designation of origin” status).今年2月，西班牙警方从一个*私走**团伙中缴获了400公斤藏红花线，该团伙涉嫌进口伊朗原料，添加更便宜的原料，然后作为深受喜爱的品种从拉曼恰地区出售（该地拥有“原产地保护”地位）。Paragraph 4:This may only be the tip of the stigma, says Burkhard Mühl of Europol, the EU's police agency. 欧洲刑警组织（欧盟警察机构）的布克哈德说，这可能只是冰山一角。A recent study commissioned by the EU found that 11% of saffron for sale within the bloc may be counterfeit. Studies by the French government suggest a higher figure.欧盟最近委托进行的一项研究发现，欧盟内部出售的藏红花中有11%可能是假冒的。法国政府的研究表明，这一数字更高。Paragraph 5:All of this causes problems for honest Iranian traders. 所有这些都给诚实的伊朗商人带来了问题。“I am having to try harder to gain my customers’ trust,” says Vahid Jafari, an exporter who has just come off a video call with a Vietnamese client. “They told me they were worried about receiving fake saffron.” 出口商瓦希德·贾法里刚刚与一名越南客户打完视频通话，他说：“他们告诉我他们担心收到假藏红花。我必须更加努力地赢得客户的信任。”Other customers are afraid that if they buy Iranian saffron, even through middlemen, they will be blacklisted by America. 其他客户担心，如果他们购买伊朗藏红花，即使是通过中间商，也会被美国列入黑名单。Banks are nervous about handling such transactions. 银行对处理此类交易感到紧张。The importer in Britain says he has had accounts in Dubai and Britain closed. “Every six months Barclays [a British bank] gets in touch with me to ask if I am doing business with Iran,” he says. “I have to lie to them.”这位英国进口商表示，他在迪拜和英国的账户已经关闭。他说：“巴克莱银行（一家英国银行）每六个月就会与我联系，询问我是否与伊朗有业务往来，我不得不对他们撒谎。”Paragraph 6:It hasn’t always been so hard. 这并不总是那么难。Trading was made easier in 2015, when Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of many international sanctions. 2015年，伊朗同意限制其核活动，以换取国际制裁的解除，那时候生意更容易做。But just three years later Donald Trump, then president, pulled America out of the deal and reimposed sanctions. 但仅仅三年后，时任总统唐纳德·特朗普就将美国从协议中退了出来，并重新实施了制裁。Talks to restore it are taking place in Vienna, giving traders a thread of hope—although progress has been scant. 消除制裁的谈判正在维也纳进行，尽管进展甚微，但这给了从业者一线希望。Says a dealer based in Tehran, “If you can export saffron from Iran nowadays, you’re a superman.德黑兰（伊朗首都）的一位商人说，“如果你现在能从伊朗出口藏红花，你就是超人。 （恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量550左右）原文出自：2021年12月18日《The Economist》Middle East & Africa版块。精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路本文翻译整理：Irene本文编辑校对：Irene仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【补充资料】（来源于网络）

霍拉桑（Khorasan）：伊朗伊斯兰共和国的一个地名，位于伊朗的东北面，土克曼斯坦的南面和阿富汗斯坦的北面，现已分立为3个省：北霍拉桑省、霍拉桑省、南霍拉桑省。历史上的霍拉桑地域极其广阔，阿拉伯地理学家甚至说过，霍拉桑曾延伸到印度的边界。拉曼恰(La Mancha）：位于阿尔瓦塞特、雷阿尔）、昆卡和托莱多省的南部高原，是西班牙乃至全世界最大的葡萄酒产区。 【重点句子】（3个）Plenty of funny business can occur along the way. 过程中会产生很多有意思的买卖。All of this causes problems for honest Iranian traders. 所有这些都给诚实的伊朗商人带来了问题。It gives traders a thread of hope—although progress has been scant. 尽管进展甚微，但这给了从业者一线希望。

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