雙匯收購Smithfield引發港人擔憂
As a city that gets the vast majority of its food and water from mainland China, Hong Kong is no stranger to food-safety fears. On Thursday, news that China’s Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. had acquired Smithfield Foods Inc. SFD -1.83%─the largest U.S. pork producer and supplier of popular products to Hong Kong─touched off similar anxieties.
作爲一個絕大部分食品和水依靠中國內地的城市，香港對食品安全擔憂並不陌生。週四，中國雙匯國際控股有限公司(Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.)收購Smithfield Foods Inc.的消息在香港引發類似擔憂。Smithfield是美國最大的豬肉生產商，也是香港很多受歡迎產品的供應商。Over 90% of Hong Kong’s meat products come from mainland China. But the city’s thriving expat community and demand from many health-conscious locals have also fueled a brisk business in meat imports from places such as North America and Australia, which are seen as a safer alternative.
香港市場上銷售的肉類產品逾90%來自中國內地。但香港繁榮的外籍人士社區以及來自很多健康意識較強的當地人的需求也助推了肉類進口這門火爆的生意。進口肉類的來源地包括北美和澳大利亞。這些地區的肉類被視作安全性更高的替代品。Winson Chan of Million (Far East) Ltd., which imports mostly U.S. and Canadian meats into Hong Kong, said Thursday that in addition to Smithfield’s pork meat, his company sells several shipping containers full of millions of Smithfield Inc. chicken hot dogs every month. The hot dogs, he said, are a popular breakfast and café food staple in Hong Kong, often served alongside instant noodles. Smithfield Inc. worked together with Million (Far East) Ltd in 2009 to create the product specifically for the Hong Kong market, he said.
萬安（遠東）有限公司(Million (Far East) Ltd.)的Winson Chan週四說，除了Smithfield的豬肉，他的公司每月還會銷售Smithfield生產的裝滿幾個海運集裝箱的雞肉熱狗腸，數量能達到數百萬根。他說這些熱狗腸在香港是很受歡迎的早餐和餐館主食，通常會搭配速食麪一起銷售。萬安（遠東）有限公司主要將美國和加拿大的肉類進口至香港。他說，2009年時Smithfield曾和萬安公司合作打造適合香港市場的產品。
“We are very concerned about safety, because our customers are really concerned about food origin. We have to rely on reliable sources,” said Mr. Chan, who said he sells Smithfield products to the city’s two largest grocery chains, PARKnSHOP and Wellcome. “That’s why some of our customers were concerned about the acquisition.”
Winson Chan說，我們非常擔心安全問題，因爲我們的客戶非常關心食品來源；我們必須依賴可靠的貨源，這正是我們部分客戶對此次收購非常擔心的原因。他說其進口的Smithfield產品主要賣給香港最大的兩家雜貨連鎖店百佳(PARKnSHOP)和惠康(Wellcome)。However, Mr. Chan said that when he spoke to Smithfield representatives to convey such fears yesterday, he was told that the American company’s top management, sales strategy and plant operations wouldn’t change.
但Winson Chan說,昨天他向Smithfield的代表傳達這樣的擔憂時，他被告知這家美國公司的高層管理人員、銷售策略和工廠運營都不會改變。“They said, ‘Don’t worry Winson, it’s just like when Hong Kong returned to China.’”
他們說，別擔心，就像香港迴歸中國時各項制度不變一樣。While the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, it has remained largely self-governing and continues to operate with its own independent political and economic system.
香港曾是英國殖民地，1997年迴歸中國。迴歸後，香港在很大程度上保持自治，並按其獨立的政治和經濟體制繼續運行。In addition to Smithfield’s pork and chicken products, Shuanghui─China’s largest pork products company─also has a healthy presence in the Hong Kong market. A Shuanghui employee surnamed Zhang said Thursday that the company has been selling products in Hong Kong since 2001, mostly frozen sausages, including “crispy cheese sausage” and “honey crispy sausage,” to local supermarkets and fast food eateries. Based in Henan province, the company is the majority shareholder of China’s largest meat processor, whose company chairman Wan Long has been dubbed “China’s No. 1 Butcher.” According to company statements, Shuanghui slaughters some 15 million pigs a year.
除了Smithfield的豬肉和雞肉產品，作爲中國最大的豬肉製品企業，雙匯在香港市場的佔有率也很高。一位姓張的雙匯員工週四說，該公司自2001年開始在香港向當地超市和快餐小吃店銷售產品，主要是冷凍香腸，其中包括脆皮芝士腸和蜜辣香脆腸。該公司總部設在河南，是中國最大肉類處理企業的大股東。雙匯董事長萬隆被稱作“中國第一屠夫長”。從該公司的財報看，雙匯一年屠宰的生豬數量約爲1,500萬頭。
