VOA慢速英语:African Union Pushing for More Intercontinental Trade

The African Union has held countless meetings and conferences on how to increase trade between African countries, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has organized similar gatherings. Yet these efforts have failed to lead to a increase in intra-Africa trade.
非洲联盟已经就如何提高非洲国家之间的贸易召开了无数次会议，联合国非洲经济委员会(简称UNECA)也举办过类似的会议。然而这些努力都失败了，并未能增加非洲内部贸易。

Currently, African countries do only 11 percent of their foreign trade with other countries on the continent. By comparison, Asian countries do 50 percent of their trade with Asian countries. Last year, the world bank reported that Africa loses billions of dollars every year because of trade barriers.
目前，非洲国家和非洲大陆其它国家之间的外贸额仅占到总额的11%。相比之下，亚洲国家之间的贸易额占到了总额的50%。去年，世界银行报告称，非洲每年因为贸易壁垒损失数十亿美元。

This past July, a U.N. report urged African governments to provide more support to private businesses, reduce trade barriers and expand public services. The slow progress makes it difficult for companies to do business in surrounding countries.
刚刚过去的7月，联合国的一份报告呼吁非洲各国政府更多的支持民营企业，减少贸易壁垒，扩大公共服务。进展缓慢使得各公司很难开展与周边国家的业务。

Jittu Horticulture PLC is Ethiopia's biggest exporter of horticulture products. The company's General Manager Jan Prins says Ethiopia has huge possibilities for trade, but he says there are too many difficulties when attempting to trade with neighboring countries.
Jittu Horticulture PLC是埃塞俄比亚最大的园艺产品出口商。该公司总经理Jan Prins称，埃塞俄比亚的贸易潜力无限，但他说，当试图与周边国家贸易时遇到了太多的困难。

"The major challenge is to reach these markets. And it can either be logistic problems like over flooded border areas, bad roads or no roads, trade barriers, political issues or security issues. For Ethiopia it is very difficult to reach the markets in the surrounding countries."
“主要的挑战是进入这些市场。它可以是物流问题，像严重被淹过的边境地区，道路不好走，或根本没有路通行，贸易壁垒，政治问题或安全问题。对埃塞俄比亚来说，很难进入周边国家市场。”

Problems getting visas, corruption and high transportation costs are some of the barriers companies face when they attempt to trade within the continent. A truck in Africa will travel, on average, just nine kilometers an hour because of the many security or inspection stations. As a result, 40 percent of the cost of product is for transportation.
签证、腐败和高运输成本等问题是各公司试图与本大陆进行贸易时面临的障碍。一辆非洲货车的平均时速为9公里每小时，因为有许多的安全检查站。结果就是产品40%的成本是运输。

Intra-Africa trade, both imports and exports, totaled $131 billion in 2011. African Union countries have agreed to make the continent a free trade zone by 2017. Treasure Maphanga is the Director of the AU's Trade and Industry Department, she says governments must make that goal of a continental free trade area a reality.
2011年，非洲内部进口和出口总额为1310亿美元。非洲联盟各国已经同意，到2017年，使非洲大陆成为自由贸易区。Treasure Maphanga是非盟贸易和工业部的主任负责人。她说，各国必须使得非洲大陆自由贸易区的目标成为现实。

"I see that in many countries there is political will that exists at a certain level. Intra-Africa trade does not just depend on one ministry, it does not just depend on the head of state. It depends on the whole government machinery. And coordinating toward a specific goal."
“我看到，许多国家都存在一定层面的政治意愿。非洲内部贸易不只是依赖某一个部门，不只是依赖国家元首，它取决于整个国家机器和朝着某一特定目标的协调。”

The African Union will hold another conference on increasing Intra-Africa trade at the end of October.
非洲联盟将在十月底就提高非洲内部贸易再次举行会议。