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The problem goes beyond mining. International supermarkets often truck in goods from distribution hubs—in South Africa, for example—rather than sourcing in the places where they operate. Much of Africa's coffee, cashew and cocoa leaves the continent in packaging made abroad. Garment-makers stitch together imported fabrics with imported zips and buttons.
这个问题超出了采矿的范畴。国际超市经常从分销中心(比如南非)用卡车运送货物，而不是在他们所经营的地方采购。非洲大部分的咖啡、腰果和可可都以国外制造的包装离开了非洲大陆。服装厂用进口的拉链和纽扣缝制进口面料。
Governments' attempts to nurture linkages show just how hard they are to create. Some are trying to set up clusters of knowledge in industrial parks. Raghav Pattar, an Indian, came to Hawassa Industrial Park in Ethiopia as the manager of a Chinese apparel factory. From there it was a short step to his current job as chief executive of Nasa Garment, the first Ethiopian-owned company there. These kinds of moves help skills and knowhow spread. But most Ethiopian firms "are not coming to the industrial park", says Mr Pattar. They struggle to get the loans and expertise that foreign firms can acquire abroad. In many countries the entrepreneurs who gain most from foreign investment are often those with existing connections, such as those of European or Asian descent.
各国政府为建立这种联系所做出的努力表明了它的困难程度。一些公司正试图在工业园区建立知识集群。印度人Raghav Pattar来到了埃塞俄比亚的阿瓦萨工业园区担任一家中国服装厂的经理。从那时起他就离美国国家航空航天局服装公司首席执行官的职位仅剩一步之遥，这是该公司首家被埃塞俄比亚人所持有的公司。这些举措有助于技能的传播。但是大多数的埃塞俄比亚公司都“不会来工业园”，帕塔先生表示。他们很难获得外国公司可以在海外收购的贷款和专业技术。在许多国家，从外国投资中获益最多的企业家往往是那些有现有关系的人，比如有欧洲或亚洲血统的人。
Governments are also trying to foster links through "local content" rules, which require multinationals to procure locally to win licences. The focus needs to be on suppliers that add value, notes Judith Fessehaie of the International Trade Centre, a development agency, who has studied such policies in the southern African mining sectors, so that contracts do not go to importers with nothing more than "a briefcase and a desk". But the risk is that tough restrictions put foreign firms off setting up in a country altogether.
各国政府还试图通过“本地内容”规则来促进联系，这些规则要求跨国公司在当地采购来获得许可证。发展机构国际贸易中心的朱迪思·费斯海研究了南部非洲采矿业的此类政策，他指出，重点应该放在能增值的供应商身上，这样一来，合同就不会落到进口商的手里，他们手里只有“一个公文包和一张桌子”。但风险在于，严格的限制完全阻碍了外国公司在一个国家的设立。
Some hope that the market might create incentives to source locally, as consumers become more interested in the origins of the products they buy. "Our objective is to grow the Ghana ecosystem," says Keren Pybus of Ethical Apparel Africa, a British garment-sourcing company that has invested in a factory in Ghana. Ms Pybus imports fabric but wants one day to buy it locally. Foreign-owned brewers are switching from imported barley to homegrown grains, marketing beer-drinking as a patriotic act. But unless suppliers have the funds, capacity and expertise to take advantage of foreign linkages, such efforts will amount to small beer.
一些人希望随着消费者对所购买产品的产地越来越感兴趣，市场能够创造出采购动机。“我们的目标是发展加纳的生态系统，”Ethical Apparel Africa的克伦·皮布斯表示。Ethical Apparel Africa是一家英国服装采购公司，已经在加纳投资了一家工厂。皮布斯女士的布料来自进口，但她希望有一天能够在当地购买。外资酿酒商正从进口大麦转向国产谷物，把喝啤酒当作一种爱国行为来进行推销。但是，除非供应商有资金、能力和专业知识来利用与外国的联系，否则这些努力将是微不足道的。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
