■阿根廷出現嚴重旱災，令全球糧食價格上升。 資料圖片【原文】下文摘錄自香港《文匯報》2018年3月6日報道：
全球第三大玉米和大豆出口國阿根廷（Argentina）爆發數十年來最嚴重旱災（drought），導致全球糧食價格急升，並引發連鎖效應（domino effect），推高牲畜飼料價格。據報阿根廷多間牲畜飼料工廠已減少產品中的油籽（oilseed）分量。
氣候預測機構Commodity Weather Group的氣象學家（meteorologist）稱，阿根廷北部大豆種植帶三分二地區缺少水分（moisture），產量比往年同期低。當地農夫表示，今年降雨量（rainfall）只有正常四分一，田裡的大豆和玉米比正常矮一半，玉米穗的大小亦只有正常的七成，預計今年大豆收成可能只及正常的三分一。
過去幾年間，由於天氣好加上引入基因改造穀物（genetically modified crops），全球玉米和大豆產量持續過剩，單是阿根廷一地失收，尚不足以影響全球糧價。但同一時間，美國中西部平原和南非（South Africa）等地都面對乾旱威脅，令全球玉米和大豆庫存量開始減少，各國買家紛紛搶購（snap up）儲備，終推高價格。大豆粉（soybean meal）和大豆期貨（future）價格上周五升至前年夏天以來最高，玉米期貨價格則升至近8個月以來最高。
阿根廷也是全球最大大豆粉出口國，佔全球產量48%，但今年收成不佳，可能要向鄰國巴拉圭（Paraguay）輸入大豆粉，以彌補國內需求。飼料價格飆升長遠亦會影響全球畜牧業（livestock farming），荷蘭合作銀行（Rabobank）的農產品研究主管沃格爾（Stefan Vogel）指出，現在的問題是阿根廷能否出口足夠飼料，滿足全球所需。
海外廠家紛紛尋找阿根廷以外的玉米和大豆來源，美國是受惠國家之一，過去7周便出口近1,250萬噸玉米，成為近23年以來最繁忙的銷售季節。美國農夫則藉機（take advantage of）抬高價格，形容是「天賜良機」。
Drought of Argentina pushes up global food prices
【譯文】The world's third-largest corn and soybean exporter Argentina was said to have suffering from the worst drought in decades, resulting in a sharp rise in global food prices and triggering a domino effect to push up the animal feed costs. It was reported that a number of animal feed manufacturers in the country had already reduced the amount of oilseeds used in their productions.
Meteorologists of the Commodity Weather Group forecasted that two-thirds of the soybean belt in Argentina was short of moisture, resulting in yield reduction compared with previous years. The local farmers said that only one-fourth of the usual rainfall was recorded this year, and the soybean and corn plants stood at only half their typical height and the size of corn ears was just 70% of the normal size. It was also expected that soybean production would reach only one-third of the normal level this year.
The stable climate and introduction of genetically modified crops over the past few years had contributed to the excessive yields of corn and soybean such that the global food prices would not easily be affected simply because of Argentina's crop failure. However, areas such as the great plains of the midwestern U.S. and the South Africa were also threatened by severe droughts, leading to a dramatic decline in global stocks of corn and soybean and consequently the buyers' snapping up of markers of food products and a sharp increase of crop prices. Last Friday, the futures of soybean meal and soybean hit a record high since last summer, while the corn prices also burst into the highest level over the past 8 months.
Argentina is also the world's largest exporter of soybean meal, accounting for 48% of the global production. Because of the crop failure this year, it might need to import soybean meal from its neighboring country Paraguay to meet domestic demand. On the other hand, the soaring feed prices will bring about a long-term impact on global livestock farming. Stefan Vogel, head of agricultural commodity research at Rabobank, said whether Argentina could export enough animal feed to meet global demand would be of prime importance.
Overseas manufacturers have been searching for sources of corn and soybean outside Argentina, among which the U.S. is one of the beneficiaries. Exporters in the U.S. have sold nearly 12.5 million tonnes of corns over the past 7 weeks, making it the busiest sale season in 23 years. Taking advantage of the climbing prices, the U.S. farmers described that "it's basically been a gift".■龐嘉儀
延伸問題
1. 據《2017年全球糧食危機》（Global Report on Food Crises 2017）報告指出，2015年到2016年間，面臨嚴重糧食不足的全球人口增至多少？
2. 該報告警告，全球於何時可能面臨毀滅性的饑荒？
3. 該報告認為造成全球糧食危機的原因包括什麼？
4. 該報告是由什麼組織所發佈？
5. 全球主要糧食出口國有哪些？
1. 1.08億
2. 2050年
3. 戰亂、糧食價格高漲、極端氣候等
4. 聯合國糧食及農業組織（Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO）
5. 美國、巴西、中國、加拿大、阿根廷等