雅思阅读材料之速冻饺子占领中国餐桌

Frozen dumpling sales are growing rapidly in China as rising labour costs and the increasing ranks of working mothers have made it too time-consuming to fill and fold them from scratch. 

在中国，速冻饺子销售额正迅速增长。随着人工成本不断攀升，加上职场妈妈的群体越来越庞大，包饺子已经变成一项时间成本过高的活动。 

General Mills, the US food company, is the leading frozen dumpling maker in China, with its popular Wanchai Ferry brand accounting for 44 per cent of the market. Gary Chu, head of General Mills' China business, said dumpling sales were growing at double-digit rates annually and topped $200m last year. 

美国食品公司通用磨坊(General Mills)是中国市场上领先的速冻饺子生产商。它的畅销品牌湾仔码头(Wanchai Ferry)占据了中国市场44%的份额。通用磨坊大中华区总裁朱玺(Gary Chu)表示，该公司去年速冻饺子销售额增长率为两位数，达到2亿美元。 

"People used to make dumplings at home but now nobody has the time because it's messy," Mr Chu told the Financial Times. "Today's woman doesn't want to cook any more." 

"过去大家都自己在家包饺子，但如今没人有那个时间，因为包饺子很费事。"朱玺向英国《金融时报》表示，"如今的女性不再愿意下厨了。" 

Mr Chu said dumpling shops and restaurants are also increasingly switching to frozen fare due to the rising minimum wages across China. Last year most Chinese provinces increased minimum wages by more than 20 per cent. 

朱玺说，饺子馆和餐馆也开始越来越多地采购速冻产品，因为在中国各地，工资标准不断上调。去年中国大部分省份的工资标准调高了20%以上。 

"The labour is too expensive," Mr Chu said. "China is not cheap any more and you cannot tell the difference between frozen and fresh." 

"人工太贵。"朱玺说，"中国已不再是一个低成本的国家，再说你也分辨不出速冻与新鲜的差别。" 

Wanchai Ferry has expanded its frozen dumpling offerings with other frozen dim sum-style items such as wontons and tangyuan, a glutinous rice dessert that is traditionally filled with a sweet paste. 

湾仔码头已经扩充了速冻产品线，在速冻饺子之外，又推出了馄饨、汤圆等速冻点心。 

General Mills acquired Wanchai Ferry in 1997, nearly 20 years after Chong Kin Wo began selling her homemade dumplings from a wooden cart at the Wanchai Ferry pier in Hong Kong. According to a 2010 survey by BrandZ, a consultancy, 28 per cent of Chinese in the top 10 cities prefer Wanchai Ferry dumplings. 

30多年前，臧健和在香港湾仔码头推起手推车，开始卖自家包的饺子。20年后的1997年，通用磨坊收购了湾仔码头。咨询公司BrandZ在2010年做的一项调查显示，中国前十大城市中有28%的人喜欢湾仔码头的饺子。 

Mr Chu said that in spite of the success of Wanchai Ferry, the company is facing stronger competition from local brands that have improved their quality. Meanwhile, he said, the Chinese government has been getting tougher on foreign groups and targeting them over health concerns. 

朱玺表示，尽管湾仔码头很成功，但一些中国本土品牌提高了产品质量，这使湾仔码头面临更加激烈的竞争。另一方面，朱玺表示，中国政府对待外资集团的态度也变得越来越强硬，紧盯它们的食品卫生状况。 

Last year Wanchai Ferry frozen dumplings were pulled from supermarket shelves in Nanjing after health officials found bacteria in the product that they said could be life-threatening. 

去年，南京市卫生官员发现湾仔码头速冻饺子中含有致病菌（官员们称这种病菌可能致命）。随后，湾仔码头速冻饺子在该市各超市下架。 

"Foreign brand privilege is going away," Mr Chu said. "The country is getting more and more competitive." 

"外国品牌的特权正在一点点消失。"朱玺说，"中国市场的竞争越来越激烈。" 

General Mills generated $550m in net sales from China last year and projects that will reach $900m by 2015. Mr Chu said signs of a slowdown in the Chinese economy were a real concern but that the country's one-party system had made it possible for the government to react quickly. 

通用磨坊去年在中国实现5.5亿美元的净销售额，该公司预计到2015年这个数字将达到9亿。朱玺表示，中国经济增长放缓的种种迹象确实令人担忧，但中国的一党制使政府能够迅速做出反应。 

"China won't be like Europe," Mr Chu said. 

朱玺说："中国不会像欧洲那样。" 

General Mills is also looking beyond frozen food in China. 

通用磨坊还打算在中国进军速冻食品以外的领域。