导读:在中国人眼里，驴皮制成的阿胶被视为大补珍品。随着国内阿胶供不应求的局面逐渐加强，中国开始拓宽进口渠道。
Pakistan is looking to export live donkeys to China, as the gap between the country’s huge demand and its decreasing supply has been widening for years.
随着中国巨大需求和供应减少的缺口逐年扩大，巴基斯坦正在寻求向中国出口活驴。
The project initiated by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government and titled the "KP-China Sustainable Donkey Development Programme," is one of the many investment proposals the KP Planning and Development Department has put forward, according to the Pakistan-based The Express Tribune.
据巴基斯坦《论坛快报》称，由开伯尔－普赫图赫瓦省政府发起的项目和名为“KP-中国可持续猴类发展的计划”是开伯尔－普赫图赫瓦省计划和发展部提出的中国投资建议的其中之一。
In the context of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the program, with an initial investment of 1 billion Pakistan Rupees ($9.81 million), aims to increase the donkey population of KP and create a channel which can ensure the uninterrupted supply of donkeys to China, according to a statement released one the KP-CPEC website.
据KP-CPEC网站发布的一份声明，在中国 - 巴基斯坦经济走廊（CPEC）背景下，该计划首次投资10亿巴基斯坦卢比（981万美元）旨在增加该省驴的数量，建立一个可以保证不间断向中国供应驴子的渠道。
The website notes that while neglected in Pakistan, the animal is highly prized in China, especially for its hide which is used to manufacture traditional Chinese medicines.
该网站强调，尽管驴子在巴基斯坦被忽视，但是在中国备受赞扬，尤其是它的皮，被用来制造传统中药。
"The proposed project will help improve the socio-economic status of donkey-rearing communities by improving the health and production of local donkeys," the statement said.
声明说：“拟议的项目将通过改善当地驴子的健康和生产来提高驴饲养社区的社会经济地位。”
The project was unveiled at a time in which China is desperately in need of more donkeys.
在中国迫切需要更多驴子时，这项计划发布了。
Gelatin made from donkey skin has been long considered to have medicinal properties in China, traditionally being thought to nourish the blood, enhance the immune system and even prolong one’s life.
在中国，驴皮制成的明胶长期被视为拥有药用价值，传统上被认为可以滋养血液，增强免疫系统，甚至延长人的寿命。
The most famous variety donkey gelatin, named "ejiao," is produced in Dong’e County in East China’s Shandong Province. It is prized in China, with the price surging from 130 yuan($18.9) per kilogram in 2001 to 5,400 yuan this year according to the National Business Daily.
最著名的驴胶品种叫做“阿胶”，是中国东部山东省东阿县出产的。据《每日经济新闻》，它的价格从2001年的130元每千克，今年飙升到了5400元（每千克）。
about 4 million donkeys are slaughtered each year to produce ejiao, the Xinhua News Agency reported on April 11.
4月11日，新华社报道，每年约有400万驴子被屠杀用来生产阿胶。
As consumption and prices rise, the market has seen supplies shrinking over the last 20 years.
随着消费和价格上升，过去的20年市场供应减少。
According China’s National Bureau of Statistics, donkey stocks have halved over the past two decades, dropping from 9.44 million in 1996 to 5.4 million in 2015.
据中国国家统计局统计，过去二十年来，驴子库存减少了一半，从1996年的944万减少到2015年的540万。
Under the circumstances, it is not possible to meet demand without imports. It will take at least 6-10 years to make the China’s donkey market self-sufficient, said Dong Shuguang, general manager of Guojiaotang, a Shandong-based donkey gelatin manufacturer.
在这种情况下，无需进口即可满足需求是不可能的。山东驴胶生产商郭家堂总经理董曙光表示，中国的驴子市场至少需要6 - 10年的时间才能实现自给自足。
What’s more, some African states which had just became important suppliers to China last year have now quit the market due to the concerns over ecologic issues. For example, Niger and Burkina Faso exported tens of thousands of donkeys and hides to China in 2016 before they banned exports later that year, warning that the rapidly growing trade was threatening the donkey population.
此外，去年刚刚成为中国重要供应商的一些非洲国家现在由于对生态问题的考虑而退出市场。例如，尼日利亚和布基纳法索于2016年向中国出口成千上万的驴子和皮革，去年晚些时候，这些国家禁止出口了，并且警告快速增长的贸易正在威胁驴子数量。
As China’s donkey shortage is occurring at a time when Pakistan has one of the largest donkey stocks, around 9 million, the KP government will "develop market linkages in order to improve the prices of donkeys and enhance the income of breeders and traders," according to the government program’s website.
由于中国的驴子短缺正值巴基斯坦拥有最大的驴子数量时，这一数量约为900万头，因此，KP政府将发展市场联系以提高驴子价格，提高育种者和贸易商的收入”，据该政府计划网站。
However, like the African countries, Pakistan has expressed concern over potential risks to the animal’s sustainability caused by exports.
然而，如同非洲国家一样，巴基斯坦已经表达出对出口造成潜在动物持续性风险的顾虑。
In 2015, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, placed a temporary ban on the export of donkey hides, fearing an irreversible decline in stock.
2015年，由财政部长达赖达率领的经济协调委员会（ECC）暂时禁止出口驴皮，担心库存减少不可逆转。
At the time, the country’s food ministry warned the committee that an expansion in the trade could lead to mass poisonings of donkeys. Killing the animals in this way preserves their valuable hides.
当时，该国的食品部门警告委员会称，扩大贸易可能导致大量驴中毒。以这种方式杀死动物，保留宝贵的驴皮。
Sun Yujiang, Secretary-General of National Strategic Alliance of Technology Innovation in the Donkey Industry, told the Global Times on April 9 that it is inappropriate to blame China for the shrinking donkey populations in exporting countries.
驴行业技术创新国家战略联盟秘书长孙玉江4月9日对《环球时报》表示，在出口国驴数量缩减上责备中国是不恰当的。
"Breeding donkeys causes few environmental problems," said Sun, claiming that the majority of China’s consumption comes from domestic stocks while imports just play a supplementary role.
孙说：“饲养驴子造成的环境问题不多。”他声称，中国的大部分消费来自国内库存，进口只是扮演补充角色。
