An Uncertain Trade Path for Kimchi From Korea to China
The fate of South Korea’s kimchi industry rests on whether China considers it pickled or not.
南韓泡菜產業的命運，取決於中國是否認定它為醃製品。
When China reclassified the fermented cabbage dish several years ago, Korean exports of kimchi evaporated. As a pickled product, it did not meet China’s strict import standards. Now, China has pledged to reconsider the designation, a concession that could pave the way for a new boom in exports since the two countries sealed a broad trade deal.
幾年前，中國對發酵白菜製品進行重新歸類，南韓的泡菜出口生意化為烏有。作為醃製品，泡菜不符合中國進口產品的衛生標準。現在，中國承諾重新考慮它的歸類，在兩國簽訂廣泛的貿易協定後，這個讓步可能為南韓泡菜新一輪的出口榮景鋪好路。
The episode over kimchi, a source of deep culinary and cultural pride in South Korea and an entrée that is commonly served at every meal, reflects the sometimes complicated relationship that China has with its neighbors. As China looks to deepen its regional trade ties, such pockets of tension could flare up, creating challenges for its ambitions.
長久以來南韓飲食及文化以泡菜為榮，在南韓通常是每餐必備。中韓兩國的泡菜風波反映出中國與鄰國間，有時很複雜的關係。隨著中國尋求深化地區間的貿易關係，局部的緊張可能會激化，給中國的雄心帶來挑戰。
For years, cheaper Chinese kimchi flowed into South Korea, undercutting local producers, who were not permitted to export to China. The subject became such a sore point that kimchi was left out of important trade talks with China for years.
多年來，比較便宜的中國泡菜流向南韓，跟當地業者搶生意，南韓業者卻沒有向中國出口的許可。這件事甚至變成了一個痛處，敏感到多年來韓中重要的貿易談判都避談泡菜。
To the vendors at one food market in downtown Seoul, the prevalence of Chinese kimchi products is a reminder of China’s reach into the lives of ordinary South Koreans. “We cannot make much without importing things from China,” said Chu Kwi-soon, a 67-year-old seller of kimchi.
對首爾市中心一個食品市場的攤販來說，中國泡菜製品的大行其道讓人想起中國對尋常南韓民眾生活的影響範圍。「如果沒有從中國進口東西，我們賺不了多少錢，」67歲的泡菜商販秋貴淳表示。
China is South Korea’s biggest partner, with bilateral trade totaling $235 billion, according to the most recent figures from the Korea International Trade Association.
根據韓國國際貿易協會的最新數據，中國是南韓最大的貿易夥伴，雙邊貿易額高達2,350億美元。
China is pursuing a string of smaller pacts across Asia, using its financial heft and global influences to its advantage. In its first major move, China signed a free-trade agreement with South Korea in June.
中國正挾其經濟實力和全球影響力，在亞洲洽簽一系列規模較小的協定。中國第一個大動作是六月與南韓簽署自由貿易協定。
Under the agreement, each country will scrap tariffs on more than 90 percent of goods, including medical equipment, electronics and kimchi, over the next 20 years. The deal is expected to increase trade between China and South Korea to $300 billion, according to estimates from the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
根據協定，中韓兩國將在未來20年內取消90%以上產品的關稅，包括醫療設備、電子產品和泡菜。南韓貿易、工業和能源部估算，這項協定可望使雙方貿易額增至三千億美元。
For South Korea’s kimchi industry, it should have been a victory. But the producers, in factories across the country, are still reeling from a bureaucratic change in China. By classifying kimchi as pickled goods, the Chinese government basically blocked all imports of the product from South Korea.
對南韓的泡菜業來說，原本也應該是一場勝利。可中國的政策變化依然讓南韓各地工廠的泡菜生產商們跌跌撞撞。藉由將泡菜歸類為醃製食品，中國政府基本上完全封殺了南韓泡菜的進口。
Kimchi is fermented and has high levels of bacteria. As such, it did not pass the hygiene standards in China normally applied to pickled goods, which are sterilized and have low amounts of bacteria.
泡菜經發酵製成，細菌含量高，因此無法通過平常適用於醃製食品的衛生標準，亦即需經殺菌消毒，細菌含量低。
In a few short years, South Korea’s once-growing kimchi trade with China plunged, from hundreds of thousands of dollars of exports a year to $16,800 last year. Instead, the cabbage dish is flowing in the opposite direction, with China now exporting hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of kimchi a year to South Korea.
短短幾年間，南韓對中國一度成長的泡菜出口貿易重跌，從每年幾十萬美元的出口額減少到去年的16,800美元。現在反而換成逆輸入：中國每年出口價值數億美元的泡菜到南韓。
“We are feeling a sense of crisis as the owners of kimchi,” said Kim Young-rok, a South Korean politician.
南韓政界人士金泳錄說：「身為泡菜的擁有者，我們感受到危機。」
Other Chinese agricultural products have also undercut local business and dominated food markets and grocery stores, touching a nerve for farmers in South Korea, Mr. Kim said.
金泳錄說，中國其他的農產品同樣以低價和南韓店家競爭，主宰了南韓的食品市場和雜貨店，觸動南韓農民的敏感神經。
In February, the Chinese government said it would revise its regulations on kimchi in a move that was seen as a last-minute concession to South Korea. But it is not clear whether the classification has been changed, since the World Trade Organization has not yet confirmed the new designation.
今年二月，中國政府表示將修訂針對泡菜的規定。此舉被視為中國在最後關頭對南韓作出的讓步。目前還不清楚分類標示是否已經改變，因為還沒有得到世界貿易組織的確認。
Even if the rules change, it may be difficult to reverse the damage. As cheap Chinese kimchi has flooded the market in South Korea, local producers have struggled to hold on to their business.
即使規定有所改變，南韓泡菜或許也很難扭轉損失。隨著廉價的中國泡菜湧入南韓市場，本地生產者都在苦撐。
Some have moved their factories to China to keep costs down. Others factories have closed down.
一些店家為了降低成本，已經把工廠遷到中國；有些乾脆關門大吉。
The government is trying to preserve kimchi’s cultural significance, if not its economic import.
就算保不住泡菜的經濟價值，南韓政府也要努力保存泡菜的文化重要性。
It successfully lobbied the United Nations to name kimchi to its cultural heritage list. At the World Institute of Kimchi, a research institute financed by the South Korean government, scientists have been told to “nurture and develop the kimchi industry that will boost the national growth.”
南韓已經成功遊說聯合國把泡菜列入聯合國非物質文化遺產名錄。在南韓政府資助的研究機構世界泡菜研究所，科學家們接到的指示是「培育發展泡菜產業，將可提振國家成長。」
（張佑生譯）
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