【中国烟民拯救古巴雪茄业】

fluency

于2011-03-01 20:58:04翻译 | 已有1398人浏览

由于经济衰退和全球各国禁烟法令，雪茄业几乎被迫停产。中国日益壮大经济新贵的需求，却为它点燃了希望。

Winston Churchill and Fidel Castro fed the mystique, but it is Chinese smokers who could ultimately save the Cuban cigar.

  温斯顿·丘吉尔(Winston Churchill)和菲德尔·卡斯特罗(Fidel Castro)为雪茄平添一丝神秘，但最终拯救古巴雪茄业，则非中国烟民不能。

Demandfrom China's expanding economic elite has sparked optimism in anindustry that risked being extinguished by recession and anti-smokinglaws around the world.

  由于经济衰退和全球各国禁烟法令，雪茄业几乎被迫停产。中国日益壮大经济新贵的需求，却为它点燃了希望。

Cubancigar sales rose 2% last year, according to the latest figures,reversing a downward trend. This is thanks to a jump in Asian sales asChina overtook Germany as the third largest market for Habanos SA, theworldwide distributor of Cuban cigars. The distributor generated £228min worldwide sales, a slight increase on the previous year rather thanthe much-anticipated drop, given bans in Europe and elsewhere on smokingin bars, restaurants and public spaces

    据最新数据显示，去年古巴雪茄销量一改此前颓势，涨幅达2％。这要归功于去年亚洲雪茄销量大涨，中国更是取代德国，成为哈瓦那集团（古巴雪茄生产商）的全球第三大销售市场。此前人们广泛预测，由于欧洲等地纷纷禁止在酒吧、饭店及公共场所吸烟，雪茄销量将受影响；但哈瓦那集团去年的全球销量不降反增，销售额达2.28亿欧元。

Spainand France remain the biggest markets, but China is catching up. Brandssuch as Montecristo, Cohiba and Patargás offer an image of luxury andsophistication, qualities sought by China's burgeoning middle class.

  西班牙和法国仍是最大市场，但中国正迎头赶上。蒙特克里斯托（Montecristo）、高希霸（Cohiba）、帕特加（Patargás）等品牌奢华卓越的产品形象，正是中国日益兴起的中产阶级群体所追求的。

Butsome Chinese aficionados have been enjoying Cuban tobacco since beforethe current boom. When William Wang sampled his very first cigar, eightyears ago, the domestic sector barely existed. He can still recall thearoma of the Davidoff he savoured in a Shanghai wine bar."

  其实，在此次雪茄热之前，一些中国的雪茄爱好者，就开始享受古巴烟草了。王先生(William Wang)是在八年前首尝雪茄，而在当时的中国，雪茄尚未大量销售。他对上海一家酒吧中那支大卫杜夫(Davidoff)[1]的香醇记忆犹新。

[1] Davidoff雪茄因它的创始人ZinoDavidoff而得名。Davidoff雪茄最初是在古巴工厂生产，曾经占据了工厂雪茄产量的大部分。八十年代后Davidoff雪茄转由多米尼加生产，但仍延用古巴的配方，精选优质烟叶，以传统的工艺焙烤加工，经四年精心发酵，精良制作，始终保持着特殊的香醇和绵长的润滑口感。
　历经八十余年的发展，Davidoff的产品涵盖了与雪茄相关的各方面，从雪茄剪，雪茄火柴、打火机、雪茄套、雪茄盒、到雪茄恒温器，无不追求精致完美。从世界上品质最上乘的雪茄到各种精美的男士礼品，Davidoff均体现高雅不凡的气质。

Initiallyit was a form of showing off or conspicuous consumption. Now realconsumption is kicking in, but there's a long way to go."

   “最初，人们抽雪茄只是为了摆阔；现在有些国人购买雪茄，则是出于真正的喜爱。但中国雪茄市场还有待开发。”

"Firstly,people know the cigars are the best. Secondly, it's a symbol of luxury.And thirdly, because Cuba is a socialist country, Chinese people havemore of a sense of closeness."

    “首先，人们都知道古巴雪茄是极品；其次，它是奢华的象征；再次，古巴是个社会主义国家，这使中国人民感到更为亲切。”