2006年VOA标准英语-Dakar Fair Aims to Promote African Products

By Jordan Davis
Dakar
23 November 2006

Economists¹ have long noted² that one of the main impediments to development in Africa is the fact it imports most of its manufactured goods. That holds true for the shelves of many West African supermarkets as well. But one group in Senegal's capital Dakar is hoping to get more locally-produced products on to store shelves. In the city's downtown, they have set up a marketplace exclusively featuring goods made in Africa. Jordan Davis files this VOA report from Dakar.

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Organizers say they hope to get consumers used to seeing African products on store shelves
As a voice over a public address system urges shoppers to visit the dairy aisle³, customers fill up yellow shopping baskets before heading to the cash register.

It could be a supermarket anywhere in the world. Except that this one is the "100 Percent Africa Expo", held under a large white tent in Dakar's main square. And every single product on the shelves was made in Africa.

Shopper Fatou Sall has filled up her basket with shea butter soap and a bottle of ginger⁴ juice.

She says there are products she does not find often because the supermarket stocks mostly imported, European brands.

The expo organizers say too often, consumers do not even know local products exist. And then suppliers do not think there is a market for African goods.

Expo founder⁵ Aissadou Diagne Deme says she wants Africans to know they do not have to look to Europe when there are plenty of high quality products being manufactured nearby.

Though processed foods are a luxury for many African consumers, advocates of African commerce say locally-made foods are accessible to more people because they cost less than imports.

United Nations Development Program Senegal Representative Adama Guindo says buying local will also create jobs.

"If you give a job to one person, behind that one person you have ten others who benefit from that source of income," he said. "Helping⁶ local entrepreneurs is basically helping the communities to grow and rely more and more on themselves."

But to be competitive, African products have to look just as bit as good on the shelf as the European imports.

Across the street from the big white tent, product makers⁷ attend seminars on marketing⁸, packaging and hygiene⁹ standards.

But building a local supply chain capable of competing with the Europeans has been a challenge.

Amadou Pouye with Senegal's state-funded Institute for Food and Agricultural Technology says it is only within the past five years that the country's packaging industry has been able to print directly onto plastic.

 
Shoppers browse¹⁰ at the 100 Percent Africa Expo in Dakar
While, a number of products at the expo were professionally packaged, peanut butter was on display in store-bought plastic containers with screw-on lids.

Nearby, photocopied¹¹ product labels were attached to syrup¹² bottles with scotch¹³ tape.

But some entrepreneurs say their first concern is not pretty packaging but finding financing.

Kadidia Djiteye Sangare passes out samples of her instant ginger tea… crystals of ginger and sugar that dissolve in water just like instant coffee.

She says she came up with the idea to save homemakers the hour it normally takes to prepare the tea from scratch.

In her native Mali, she says the product is selling briskly.

Sangare says she wants to branch out into herbal tea bags. She would need equipment costing eighty thousand dollars. But no bank, she says, has been willing to lend the money to her.

Mass distribution may still be a long way off in the future for many of these small producers.

But many expo attendees are hoping consumer demand will help them overcome many of the hurdles¹⁴ to getting their products into kitchens across the continent.

1 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

4 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

9 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

10 browse   

vi.随意翻阅，浏览；(牛、羊等)吃草

参考例句：

• I had a browse through the books on her shelf.我浏览了一下她书架上的书。
• It is a good idea to browse through it first.最好先通篇浏览一遍。

11 photocopied   

v.影印，照相复制（photocopy的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• If neatly done, this field map can be photocopied and serve as a permanent map. 假如能精致地完成，这张野外图可以照象复制并作为永久性的地图。 来自辞典例句
• She photocopied the town plan. 她复印了一份城市规划图。 来自互联网

12 syrup   

n.糖浆，糖水

参考例句：

• I skimmed the foam from the boiling syrup.我撇去了煮沸糖浆上的泡沫。
• Tinned fruit usually has a lot of syrup with it.罐头水果通常都有许多糖浆。

13 scotch   

n.伤口，刻痕；苏格兰威士忌酒；v.粉碎，消灭，阻止；adj.苏格兰(人)的

参考例句：

• Facts will eventually scotch these rumours.这种谣言在事实面前将不攻自破。
• Italy was full of fine views and virtually empty of Scotch whiskey.意大利多的是美景，真正缺的是苏格兰威士忌。

14 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句