VOA慢速英语--柬埔寨稻米组织面临的问题

Cambodian Rice Organization Facing Own Problems

In a report last month, the Cambodian Rice Federation¹ (CRF) warned the country's market for exports could be destroyed by secret or unlawful sales of rice.

The report gave a long list of problems within the organization and the rice industry as a whole. It showed the deep problems and weaknesses in an industry that occupies a central place in Cambodia's society and economy.

The CRF was founded in 2014 as part of an effort to strengthen and expand the country’s rice industry. Cambodia was exporting much less rice than its neighbors Thailand and Vietnam, reports showed.

Last year, Cambodia exported about 700,000 tons of rice, a 17.3 percent increase over 2016 rice levels. Yet it exports less than Vietnam, which exported 6 million tons, and Thailand, which sold more than 11 million tons to overseas buyers over the same period.

The reasons for Cambodia’s low export numbers are complex, the CRF report said. It raised concerns over a number of issues, such as price manipulation, conflicts of interest among the CRF’s leadership, favoritism and mistrust.

The report also noted² the issue of Vietnamese rice smuggling³, which was once a taboo⁴ subject. In 2013, when the problem was discussed openly, Cambodian officials denied it existed.

But in this report, the CRF said Vietnamese smuggling was a threat to the World Trade Organization and trade rules of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The report said the smuggling made it difficult to follow the rules of origin since some rice reportedly was re-exported to a third country. It warned that this could damage Cambodia’s entire export market.

Rules governing origination are different from one country to the next. For Cambodia, the biggest concern would be if smuggling would lead to cancellation⁵ of its preferential trade position within the European Union (EU). Cambodia says 43.54 percent of its rice exports last year went to EU member countries.

A European Commission spokesperson told VOA that reports of wrongdoing involving a preferential market “need, of course, to be taken very seriously.” The spokesperson also said that Cambodia has to be sure that “the rice exported to the EU is fully⁶ homegrown.”

In 2014, the CRF established a Cambodia Code of Conduct. Its rules barred businesses from exporting low cost rice from neighboring countries. Two years later the CRF said it was tightening⁷ border controls on illegal imports. It is not clear how effective the Code of Conduct has been.

CRF deputy president Seu Rany said the CRF did not have any hard numbers on the amount of Vietnamese rice being smuggled⁸ into Cambodia but noted it remains¹⁰ a serious problem.

"(Those) who smuggle⁹ the rice do not tell us through which gateway¹¹ they do it so it's all secret," he said.

The rice federation board is influenced by wealthy and politically connected business leaders at the top of the industry. It is led by Sok Puthyvuth, owner of the SOMA group, one of the biggest rice export companies.

Chhong Sophal is an officer with an independent national group of farmers associations called Farmer and Nature Net. He criticizes Cambodian rice farmers for lacking organization. He said the farmers were not able to establish a common price for their rice, so they often lost money.

The rice federation’s report said the CRF leadership also appeared to have trouble recognizing differences between their official duties and business activities. It said the members attended meetings based on whether or not their interests would be affected¹². And it said they made "no clear effort to gather information about issues members are facing.

Seu Rany said change would take time. He added that the CRF is a growing organization with a lot of work expected in the years to come.

"It is best to sit down and talk out individual problems and solve them along the way,” he said. That way, the farmer will survive and so will the rice millers¹³ and exporters."

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

Manipulation – n. to deal with or control by artful or unfair activities

Smuggle – v. to move (someone or something) from one country into another secretly or unlawfully

Taboo – n. not acceptable to talk about or do

Origin – n. beginning or creation of something

Preferential – adj. helping¹⁴ a person or group of people

Gateway – n. an opening

1 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

4 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

5 cancellation   

n.删除，取消

参考例句：

• Heavy seas can cause cancellation of ferry services.海上风浪太大，可能须要取消渡轮服务。
• Her cancellation of her trip to Paris upset our plan.她取消了巴黎之行打乱了我们的计划。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 tightening   

上紧，固定，紧密

参考例句：

• Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前，检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
• It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。

8 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

9 smuggle   

vt.私运；vi.走私

参考例句：

• Friends managed to smuggle him secretly out of the country.朋友们想方设法将他秘密送出国了。
• She has managed to smuggle out the antiques without getting caught.她成功将古董走私出境，没有被逮捕。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

12 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

13 millers   

n.（尤指面粉厂的）厂主( miller的名词复数 )；磨房主；碾磨工；铣工

参考例句：

• Millers and bakers sought low grain prices. 磨粉厂主和面包师寻求低廉的谷物价格。 来自辞典例句
• He told me he already been acquainted with the Millers. 他跟我说他同米勒一家已经很熟。 来自互联网

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。