We are sorry to say that we can't import your grain this year because we are short of foreign exchange. 我们很抱歉，今年不能进口你们的谷物了，因为我们缺少外汇。

　　That's too bad.  太糟糕了。

　　Your country is a big market for our grain and so we will also suffer a great loss if you import nothing.  你们的国家是我们出口粮食的大市场，所以如果你们不能进口，我们的损失也很大。

　　Maybe we can find a way out. 或许我们能想出一个办法来。

　　What do you think of conducting a barter trade? 您认为易货贸易如何？

　　That can be a solution.  这倒行得通。

　　What commodities do you have to exchange for our grain？ 贵方用什么商品来交换我们的货物？

　　There are so many goods.  那可多了。

　　Our country exports huge quantities of timber, wool, leather and mutton.  我国出口大量木材、羊毛、皮货和羊肉。

　　Which commodity would you prefer? 您喜欢什么商品？

　　We would like to exchange our grain for your timber. 我们想用我们的谷物来换取你们的木材。

　　Excellent. The total import of grain would roughly equal your purchase of timber. 太好了。我们进口的粮食与你们购买的木材是等额的。

　　It would be a little difticult for us to sign two contracts simultaneously. 我们同时签订两个合同有点困难。

　　We could sign two sales contracts in a month, one for grain and the other for timber. 我们可以在一个月内签订两个合同，一个是谷物的销售合同，另—个是木材合。

　　Then the L/C should be opened against one another though not necessarily at the same time. 那么信用证采用对开的形式，不必同时开立。

　　What tolerance will be allowed for the counter purchase? 补偿购买允许有多大的差额？

　　We usually allow a tolerance of plus or minus 10％. 一般我们允许有正负10%的差额。

　　Then we have solved the problem of our shortage of foreign exchange. 我们已经解决了缺少外汇的问题。