疫情影响土豆出口 比利时人被要求多吃薯条

受新冠肺炎疫情影响，比利时土豆严重过剩，因为加工厂的冷冻能力有限，多达75万吨的土豆“无处可去”。为了解决土豆危机，比利时人被敦促多吃薯条和冷冻土豆产品。

Fresh french fries are seen at Mydibel Group factory, a manufacturer of chilled, frozen and dehydrated potato products, amid the coronavirus pandemic,in Moucron, Belgium, April 29, 2020.Yves Herman/Reuters

When you read the headline 'Belgians urged to eat more fries' you may think it's a joke, but in Belgium, it was a serious request.

当你看到标题“比利时人被要求多吃薯条”，你可能会以为这是个玩笑，但在比利时，这是一个认真的请求。

The country's potato industry has been hit hard by COVID-19. When the virus began shutting down Italy, Spain and eventually Belgium, the crisis was in full swing, according to Romain Cools, the Secretary-General of Belgapom, which oversees Belgium's potato trade and processing industry.

比利时的土豆产业遭到了新冠疫情的强烈冲击。比利时土豆贸易和加工行业监管机构Belgapom的秘书长罗曼·库尔斯称，一开始病毒令意大利、西班牙采取封锁措施，最后比利时也进入封锁状态，导致土豆产业出现全面危机。

He tells ABC News' "Perspective Podcast" the country has a giant surplus of potatoes, caused by the shutdown of the food service sector since about 70% of the potatoes in Belgium are consumed out of the home.

库尔斯告诉美国广播公司资讯部视角播客栏目说，食品服务部门停业导致比利时的土豆产量严重过剩，因为该国约70%的土豆出口国外。

"We are talking about 750,000 tons of potatoes in Belgium alone, which is about 30,000 trucks full of potatoes in a row. These potatoes, they have no market, they have no consumption," said Cools.

库尔斯说：“光是在比利时，就有75万吨土豆，可以装满约3万辆卡车。这些土豆没有市场，也没有人购买。”

In his more than 30 years in the industry, Cools has never seen a surplus like this one and he is worried it might affect future seasons, including one that will start in a few weeks.

在他从业三十多年的时间里，库尔斯从未见过如此严重的土豆过剩。他担心这可能会影响未来的土豆生产季，包括几周后即将开始的下一个土豆生产季。

"We are finding solutions to prolong the potato season till August, so people who can store potatoes till August, they will store them. Of course, that will affect next season. The question is, will there be enough place to process these potatoes? And how will that also affect the crop of next year?" Cools said.

库尔斯说：“我们在寻找将土豆季延长到八月的方法，这样有能力把土豆储存到八月份的人们就会储存土豆。当然，这会影响下一个土豆季。问题是，是否会有足够的地方来加工这些土豆？又会对明年的土豆产生什么影响？”

He has been thinking of ways to increase the consumption of potatoes, one of the main staples of Belgian food, including eating more fries.

他正在思索增加土豆消费量的办法，包括让人们吃更多薯条。土豆是比利时的主食之一。

Fresh french fries are seen at Mydibel Group factory, a manufacturer of chilled, frozen and dehydrated potato products, amid the coronavirus pandemic,in Moucron, Belgium, April 29, 2020.Yves Herman/Reuters

The idea came to him after a Belgian journalist asked what Belgians can do to help out.

一位比利时记者问他比利时人可以帮忙做些什么时，他便产生了这一想法。

"I just said from the heart, 'you could help us by just buying, and eating, extra time frozen potato products during the coronavirus crisis,'" said Cools.

库尔斯说：“我发自内心地说：‘你们只要在疫情危机期间买和吃加时冷冻土豆产品就可以帮到我们’。”

He says the request is serious due to the impact shutdowns are having on his industry.

他说，这是一个认真的请求，因为封锁对土豆产业的影响真的很大。

"We are not only facing problems for our potato growers, but also our processing industry. They are processing these potatoes, which they promised to take from the farmers, but they have a lack of freezing capacity at this moment," said Cools.

库尔斯说：“不仅是我们的土豆种植者面临问题，我们的加工产业也面临问题。他们正在加工这些承诺从农民手中收购的土豆，但他们现在的冷冻能力不够了。”

Cools is worried farmers and processors may have to throw away potatoes, but he says they may be able to avoid that scenario with the help of Too Good to Go, an app that sells unsold food that would have become waste.

库尔斯担心农民和加工商可能得把 "At this moment, we are really working on a campaign with the supermarkets in Belgium to ask consumers to buy extra time frozen potato products," Cools said.

库尔斯说：“目前我们正在与比利时的超市合作发起一场宣传活动，请求消费者购买加时冷冻土豆产品。”

He's also working with the government of the Flemish region of Belgium to give potatoes that would have gone to waste to food banks across the country.

他还和比利时佛兰德区的政府合作，把原本可能会被浪费掉的土豆送给世界各地的食品银行。