2022年经济学人 南非的马麦酱短缺还没有结束的迹象

（单词翻译）

Middle East & Africa

中非版块

South Africa

南非

Marmageddon

马麦酱告急

There is no end in sight for the nationwide Marmite shortage

全国范围内的马麦酱短缺还没有结束的迹象

"I am distraught because I am about to finish my last jar,” says Irine Mboweni, a resident of Johannesburg and mother of two.

约翰内斯堡居民、两个孩子的母亲伊琳·姆博维尼说：“我心烦意乱，因为我马上就要吃完最后一罐了。”

“There is no Marmite on the shelves and I do not know what to do.”

“货架上没有马麦酱，我不知道该怎么办。”

Amid the many tragedies befalling the world, a shortage of glossy¹ dark goo to spread on bread is surely small beer.

和世界上发生的许多悲剧相比，缺乏可以涂在面包上的光滑的黑色粘稠物无疑是小事一桩。

But not to the millions of South Africans who, quite inexplicably², like the salty sludge and are struggling to cope with the worst Marmite shortage since the end of apartheid.

但对数百万南非人来说却并非如此，他们莫名其妙地喜欢这种含盐的粘稠物，正努力应对自种族隔离制度结束以来最严重的马麦酱短缺。

The love-it-or-loathe-it spread, invented in Britain at the start of the 20th century, is an extract of yeast³.

20世纪初，英国人发明了一种叫“爱它又恨它”的酱，它是一种酵母提取物。

It is most commonly eaten spread thinly on buttered toast, but it can also be used to add a rich, vegan-friendly umami flavour to soups, stews⁴ and sauces.

它最常见的是涂在涂有黄油的吐司上，但也可以用来在汤、炖菜和酱汁中添加浓郁的素食友好的鲜味。

In South Africa Marmite is indeed thinly spread.

在南非，马麦酱的分布确实很稀少。

Shoppers first noted⁵ shortages at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, when South Africa banned alcohol sales in an attempt to free up beds in hospitals that would otherwise be filled with tipsy drivers or drunken brawlers.

购物者最早注意到马麦酱短缺是在疫情开始时，当时南非禁止酒类销售，试图腾出医院的床位，否则医院将挤满喝醉的司机或醉酒打架者。

The ban had an unexpected consequence.

这项禁令产生了意想不到的后果。

With beer sales on ice, South Africa’s main breweries⁶ sharply reduced their production.

由于啤酒销量下降，南非的主要啤酒厂大幅减产。

With much less lager fermenting⁷ in their vats⁸, they were also producing far less brewer’s yeast, the beery by-product⁹ that is the main ingredient of Marmite.

由于他们发酵的啤酒少了很多，他们生产的啤酒酵母也少了很多，而啤酒副产品是马麦酱的主要成分。

Through the course of the pandemic, South Africa imposed four separate alcohol bans, each one of which dealt a blow to Marmite production.

疫情期间，南非分别实施了四项酒精禁令，每一项都对马麦酱的生产造成了打击。

Nine months since the lifting of the last prohibition¹⁰, production ought to have recovered, allowing shops to refill their shelves.

在上一次禁令解除九个月后，生产应该已经恢复，商店可以重新上架。

Yet it has not.

然而，事实并非如此。

When your correspondent recently walked the aisles¹¹ of 15 grocery stores in Johannesburg, 12 had no Marmite at all.

记者最近在约翰内斯堡逛了15家杂货店，发现有12家根本没有马麦酱。

In the three remaining shops a total of just seven jars could be found, of which three appear to have escaped purchase by hiding behind jars of Bovril, a beef-based cousin of Marmite.

在剩下的三家商店里，总共只找到了七罐，其中3罐似乎是藏在Bovril(一种牛肉制品，类似马麦酱)的罐子后面才避免被买走。

The branch manager of a large store in eastern Johannesburg says that deliveries still dribble¹² in but fly off the shelves in an instant.

约翰内斯堡东部一家大型商店的分店经理表示，货物仍然源源不断地送来，但货架上的货物很快就会被抢购一空。

That the shortage continues is because of another hiccup¹³ in the supply chain.

持续短缺是因为供应链上的另一个问题。

Pioneer Foods, the local manufacturer of Marmite, reportedly said that its production has been slowed by a shortage of sodium¹⁴ carbonate, which is used in the manufacturing process.

据报道，当地的马麦酱生产商先锋食品公司表示，由于生产过程中使用的碳酸钠短缺，其生产速度有所放缓。

Muckraking by the Daily Maverick¹⁵, a local paper better known for exposing political scandals than for scrutinising sandwiches, found that intermittent¹⁶ cuts in the water supply were also affecting the country’s only Marmite factory.

当地以揭露政治丑闻而不是审查三明治而闻名的报纸——《独行者日报》揭秘发现，间歇性的供水中断也影响到了该国唯一的马麦酱工厂。

Perhaps, though, some good may yet emerge from South Africa’s forced diet of dry bread.

不过，南非被迫吃干面包的现状可能仍会带来一些好处。

In a country that is often divided along lines of race or wealth, all boundaries are transcended¹⁷ by love (or hatred) of Marmite.

在一个经常按种族或财富划分的国家，对马麦酱的爱(或恨)超越了所有的界限。

“Whether black or white, rich or poor, most South Africans have a jar of Marmite in their cupboard,” says Mrs Mboweni.

姆博维尼夫人说：“无论是黑人还是白人，无论贫富，大多数南非人的橱柜里都有一罐马麦酱。”

Your correspondent will neither confirm nor deny snagging Johannesburg’s last seven jars.

你们的记者不会承认也不会否认，他抢到了约翰内斯堡的最后七罐马麦酱。

Suffice it to say that Mrs Mboweni is no longer short of sludge.

不必多言，姆博维尼夫人不再缺粘稠物了。