VOA慢速英语:Will Cost of Cocoa Raise the Price of Valentine's Day?

Valentine's Day, February fourteenth, is one of the biggest days of the year for lovers of chocolate. Americans are expected to spend more than one billion dollars on chocolates and other candies for their sweethearts this holiday.
情人节，2月14日，是巧克力爱好者今年最重要的一个日子。在这个节日里，预计美国人将为心上人在巧克力和其它糖果上花费超过10亿美元。

But the chocolate industry worries that prices for its sweets could rise in the years ahead. Susan Smith is a spokeswoman for the National Confectioners Association, a trade group for the candy, chocolate and gum industries.
但巧克力行业的担心，糖果价格未来几年可能会上涨。Susan Smith是全国糖果协会发言人。这是一个糖果、巧克力和口香糖行业的贸易集团。

SUSAN SMITH: "They're very aware that an everyday candy product needs to be an affordable treat."
SUSAN SMITH：“他们非常清楚，日常糖果产品必须是一种负担得起的款待。”

Americans buy more than eighteen billion dollars worth of chocolate each year. But keeping chocolate at prices that people can afford may be a challenge in the future.
美国人每年购买了价值超过180亿美元的巧克力。但让巧克力保持在一个人们负担得起的价格可能是未来一大挑战。

Demand is growing, especially in Asia. More people in Asia are developing a taste for chocolate and have more money to buy it. The chocolate industry worries that supply will not keep up with demand.
需求不断增长，尤其是在亚洲。亚洲越来越多人开始喜欢上巧克力，并有更多钱购买巧克力。巧克力行业的忧虑是供应将无法跟上需求。

Cocoa is the main ingredient in chocolate. Millions of poor farmers in West Africa grow about seventy percent of the world's cocoa. Each farmer has just a few hectares of land.
和谐是巧克力的主要成分。西非数百万农民种植了全球70%的和谐。每个农民只有几公顷土地。

LYNDEL MEINHARDT: "And they don't have a lot of additional capital. They may not have the management skills that are required to actually do a better job."
LYNDEL MEINHARDT：“而他们没有大量的额外资金。他们可能也没有真正把工作做得更好所需的管理能力。”

Lyndel Meinhardt supervises cocoa research at the United States Department of Agriculture. Mr. Meinhardt says these farmers often do not have the money to buy fertilizers that would increase their productivity.
Lyndel Meinhardt在美国农业部管理和谐研究。Meinhardt先生说，这些农民往往没有足够资金购买化肥，以提高他们生产力。

And Sona Ebai with the World Cocoa Foundation says when the land stops producing, farmers just clear more land. Deforestation in West Africa is largely the result of so-called slash-and-burn agriculture for cocoa and other crops.
而世界和谐基金会的Sona Ebai称，当土地停止产出时，农民们只是清理出更多土地。西部非洲的森林砍伐，主要是和谐和其它农作物所谓的砍烧耕作农业的结果。

Mr. Ebai, a senior technical adviser, says economic forces are not the only problems facing cocoa farmers. Experts say pests and diseases destroy thirty to forty percent of the world's cocoa crop each year.
Ebai先生是一名高级技术顾问。他说，经济压力不是和谐种植者面临的唯一问题。专家称，病虫害和疾病每年破坏了世界和谐产量的百分之三十到四十。

The chocolate industry needs farmers to produce more cocoa to meet the growing demand. Small-scale farmers need help to increase their productivity and lift themselves out of poverty, without destroying more rainforest. And West African governments want to help an industry worth eight billion dollars a year. Sona Ebai says all sides are working together to seek solutions.
巧克力行业的需要农民生产出更多的和谐，以满足日益增长的需求。小规模农户需要帮助，以使他们能不破坏更多雨林的前提下增加他们的生产力并摆脱贫困。而西非各国政府想要帮助这个每年产值达到80亿美元的产业。Sona Ebai说，各方共同努力，寻求解决办法。

SONA EBAI: "For the first time, farmers, processors, chocolate multinationals, civil society are working to make sure that the cocoa economy in the world is sustainable -- everybody chipping in to make it stay that way."
SONA EBAI：”首先，农民、加工商、巧克力跨国公司和民间社会合作以确保世界各地和谐经济可持续发展—每个人都合力确保它的实现。”

Millions of dollars are being invested to increase the productivity of West African cocoa farmers. Chocolate makers like Mars and Nestle are putting money into the effort. So are organizations like the United States Agency for International Development and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
数百万美元的投资正被用来增加西非和谐豆农民的生产力。像玛氏和雀巢这样的巧克力制造商正把钱投入于此，也有如美国国际开发商和比尔和梅林达•盖茨基金会这样的组织。