一家有百年历史的公司将成为首家向中国出口大米的美国企业

一家有百年历史的公司将成为首家向中国出口大米的美国企业

In the midst of the escalating trade war between the United States and China, one California rice company is bridging the divide.

在美国和中国之间不断升级的贸易战中，一家加州大米公司正在弥补分歧。

In July 2019, Sun Valley Rice won a contract with a Chinese importer, making it the first US rice producer to sell rice to China.

2019年7月，太阳谷大米赢得了一家中国进口商的合同，成为第一家向中国销售大米的美国大米生产商。

"China has been tough to get into because for many years it was illegal to sell our rice there," said Betsy Ward, president of USA Rice. But, in 2018, the US and China came to an agreement, making it legal to export American rice to China. As a result, more than two dozen US companies were approved to export rice to China. But Sun Valley was the first to land a deal.

“很难进入中国(市场)，因为多年来，向那里销售我们的大米是非法的，”美国大米协会会长贝琪•沃德表示。但是，在2018年，美国和中国达成了一项协议，使向中国出口美国大米合法化。结果，20多家美国公司获准向中国出口大米。但太阳谷是第一个达成协议的。

Sun Valley, a family-owned company based in Sacramento, California, had been trying to break into the Chinese market for close to 15 years.

总部位于加州萨克拉门托的家族企业太阳谷近15年来一直试图打入中国市场。

"We would travel regularly to China to research [the market], attend trade shows and meet the industry players," said Ken LaGrande, who founded Sun Valley Rice with his father Michael in 2000. "It was a commitment we made as a family to persist. So when the opportunity opened up, we were ready."

“我们会定期去中国研究(市场)，参加贸易展会，会见行业参与者，”肯•拉格兰德说，他和他的父亲迈克尔•拉格兰德在2000年创立了太阳谷大米。“这是我们作为一个家庭做出的坚持的承诺。所以当机会出现时，我们已经做好了准备。”

"California's rice growing regions are the same latitude as Korea and Japan. So we all grow the same kind of rice -- medium grain and short grain -- that's popular in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine," said LaGrande.

“加州的水稻种植区与韩国和日本的纬度相同。所以我们都种同一种大米——中粒和短粒大米——这种大米在中国、日本和韩国菜中很受欢迎。”

"But Chinese consumers, who eat rice every day, will now have more choice with our rice," he said. "It is of the highest quality, grown and packaged under strict labor protocols and environmental and safety standards."

“但每天都吃大米的中国消费者，现在对我们的大米将有更多的选择，”他说。“它质量最高，在严格的劳动协议、环境和安全标准下生长和包装。”

Five generations of farmers

五代农民

The LaGrande family has been producing rice in the Sacramento Valley, starting with LaGrande's great-grandfather in the 1920s.

拉格兰德家族从1920年代拉格兰德的曾祖父开始一直在萨克拉门托山谷生产大米。

"He recognized that the climate, soil and water supply in the region was the correct conditions to successfully grow rice," said LaGrande.

“他认识到该地区的气候、土壤和水供应是成功种植水稻的正确条件，”拉格兰德说。

Over the decades, the family integrated other aspects of rice production into the business, such as drying and milling. Eventually, it grew to become LaGrande Family Foods Group. "Now it's a couple of dozen different operations," he said. Those include farming, sprouting rice and sake milling.

在过去的几十年里，这个家族将大米生产的其他方面融入了这个行业，比如烘干和碾磨。最终，它发展为拉格兰德家庭食品集团。“现在有几十种不同的运营，”他说。其中包括种植、水稻发芽和清酒酿造。

"These were not necessarily based on sound science, but more political," said USA Rice's Ward."Although we are happy that this sale was made, and we expect it to be successful, there is always a risk that future sales could be disrupted."

美国国务卿赖斯的沃德说:“这些研究不一定基于可靠的科学，而是更多地基于政治。“尽管我们对这笔交易的达成感到高兴，也希望它能够成功，但未来的销售总是存在中断的风险。”