探视泰森食品的超清洁中国养鸡场

China-Nestled among tiny farms in this rural outpost outside Shanghai is a huge, supersanitary chicken farm-a bold bet by Tyson Foods Inc. that it can thrive in China by overhauling a decades-old business model.

在上海周边的农村地区散落的小农场中间，坐落着泰森食品公司(Tyson Foods Inc.)的一家超大型、极其清洁的养鸡场。这是泰森食品的一次大胆押注，寻求通过彻底改变存在了几十年的商业模式在中国市场获得成功。

Instead of buying chickens from independent farmers, as Tyson long has done world-wide, the company is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build its own farms in China. The effort is aimed at making inroads in a crucial growth market by addressing one of the country's most vexing problems: food safety.

泰森食品斥资数亿美元在中国建设自己的养鸡场，而不是从农村散养农户手中收购鸡只，这也是该公司长期以来在全球各地的一贯做法。这样做的目的在于，通过因应“食品安全”这一让中国人最感苦恼的问题，进入中国这个至关重要的增长市场。

On a recent afternoon, 330,000 chickens graze in 16 ventilated buildings, each about the area of two Olympic swimming pools. Video cameras monitor the interiors, where the faint sound of chirps mix with the whir of big fans. Workers don sterilized uniforms and shoes. Every delivery truck entering the grounds is sprayed three times with disinfectant.

不久前的一天下午，记者看到33万只鸡在16个通风良好的鸡舍里进食，每个鸡舍的面积都有两个奥运泳池那么大。有摄像头对鸡舍的内部进行监控，鸡舍内，鸡只的叫声和大型风扇的嗡嗡声夹杂在一起。工人们穿着消过毒的制服和鞋。每一辆驶入养鸡场的卡车都要喷三次消毒剂。

Tyson aims by 2015 to run 90 such farms in China and supply its processing plants here almost exclusively with company-raised broilers, as chickens raised for meat are called. Today the Springdale, Ark., company has 20 farms in China. Three years ago, none. The goal is to double production in China to three million birds a week for supermarkets and restaurants to help offset sluggish growth in the U.S.

泰森食品的目标是，到2015年之前在中国运营90个这样的养鸡场，该公司在中国的加工工厂所需的肉鸡几乎完全来自自己的养鸡场。如今，这家总部位于阿肯色州斯普林代尔(Springdale)的公司在中国的养鸡场数量已经从三年前的零增加到20个。泰森食品的目标是，在中国实现产量翻番，达到每周向超市和餐厅供应300万只，以对冲美国市场增长疲软的影响。

'We just can't build the [chicken] houses fast enough, and we're going absolutely as fast as we know how to go,' says Tyson Chief Executive Donnie Smith.

泰森食品首席执行长史密斯(Donnie Smith)说，我们建鸡舍的速度还不够快，但我们的速度绝对已经在我们力所能及的范围内尽可能地快了。

Tyson has competition. Chinese companies, such as KFC supplier Fujian Sunner Development Co. +0.09% , dominate the market and are expanding. Many are working to modernize their food-production system, sometimes with their own company farms. Acquiring new technology and safety practices was a reason for this year's $4.7 billion takeover of U.S.-based pork processor Smithfield Foods Inc. by China's Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.

泰森食品也面临着竞争。包括肯德基(KFC)的供应商福建 农发展股份有限公司(Fujian Sunner Development Co.)在内的中国公司主宰着这一市场，而且规模也越来越大。很多公司都在努力实现食品生产体系的现代化，一些公司还建立了自己的养鸡场。今年，中国的双汇国际控股有限公司(Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.)以47亿美元收购美国的猪肉加工商Smithfield Foods Inc.，原因之一就是要获取新的技术和安全操作。

Tyson doesn't disclose its investment costs or revenue by country. But CLSA Americas LLC estimates that Tyson's China revenue was about $715 million in the fiscal year that ended in September and will reach $1.1 billion by fiscal 2015.

泰森食品不按国别披露其投资成本或营收。不过，CLSA Americas LLC估计，在截至今年9月份的这个财年里，泰森食品在中国的营收大约为7.15亿美元，到2015财年将达到11亿美元。

In the U.S., where Tyson is the largest meat processor by sales, the company contracts with 4,000 farmers to raise the chickens that Tyson processes. The farmers raise about 100,000 birds at a time, shouldering the risk and navigating the logistical hassles.

按销售额计，泰森食品是美国最大的肉类加工厂商，该公司与4,000家农场签订了协议，该公司加工的鸡只由这些农场饲养。这些农场在同一时间内饲养的鸡大约有10万只，农场自己承担风险和物流成本。

But that doesn't fly in China, which is dominated by small-scale farms. Small poultry farms, which may have only a few hundred birds each, are hard to monitor to prevent disease and deter excessive use of the feed additives that speed animal growth.

然而，在主要以小规模养饲养场为主的中国，这种做法行不通。小型家禽饲养场一次可能仅饲养数百只家禽，很难监控并预防疾病，而且也很难防止通过过度使用饲料添加剂来加快家禽生长。

Such food-safety problems are hindering companies' efforts to tap a growing demand for meat in China's emerging middle class. China overtook the U.S. last year as the world's largest consumer of chickens. But since then, a new bird-flu outbreak and other health scares have triggered sharp declines in sales.

中国新兴的中产阶级对肉类食品的需求在不断增长，但上述食品安全问题正在阻碍各个企业为满足这些需求所作的努力。去年，中国取代美国成为全球最大的鸡肉消费国。但之后，新型禽流感疫情爆发以及其他健康问题又导致销售额出现大幅下降。

Yum Brands Inc., which counts on China for about half the company's $14 billion in global revenue, blamed consumer concerns over chicken for weaker sales at Yum's KFC outlets. The company cut ties this year with some small-scale suppliers after several vendors were investigated for using excessive levels of antibiotics.

百胜餐饮集团(Yum Brands Inc.)全球140亿美元的收入中有大约一半来自中国。该公司将旗下肯德基(KFC)餐厅销售额下降归咎于消费者对鸡肉的担忧。由于调查发现一些供应商使用过量抗生素，该公司今年与一些小规模供应商断绝了业务关系。

China's chicken market is central to Tyson's plan to increase its sales from international production by at least 12% annually over the next few years. Tyson, which generated $34 billion in global revenue for fiscal 2013, has processed chicken in China since 2001. Lately, though, the company hasn't turned a profit in the country because of its investments in new farms and processing plants. The company expects to be profitable in China by the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014.

泰森食品计划在未来数年让国际产品销售额每年实现至少12%的增幅，而中国鸡肉市场对该公司实现这一计划十分关键。泰森食品自2001年以来一直在中国加工鸡肉，该公司2013财年全球收入达到340亿美元。但近来，由于该公司对新饲养场和加工工厂进行投资，公司在中国的业务一直未能实现盈利。泰森食品预计2014财年第四季度前在中国实现盈利。

After a decade of purchasing birds from independent farmers, Tyson determined it needed to take over production. 'It became apparent we have less control over product quality and safety when we buy chickens available on the open market,' says Malik Sadiq, the chief operating officer of Tyson's China division.

过去10年，泰森食品一直从独立饲养场那里收购家禽，现在该公司确定需要自己来饲养。该公司中国业务首席运营长萨迪克(Malik Sadiq)说：很明显，当我们在公开市场上购买鸡时，我们对产品质量和安全的控制不够。

Tyson says that while operating farms raises costs, it also gives the company direct oversight of production, enabling it to use biosecurity measures. For example, its chicken houses are covered, unlike at many Chinese farms, protecting the animals from the droppings of migrating birds that can carry diseases such as bird flu.

泰森食品说，虽然经营饲养场会增加成本，但此举也让公司可以直接监控生产，令公司可以采用生物安全措施。比如说，和中国的养鸡场不一样，泰森食品的鸡舍是有屋顶的，这样可以保护鸡群免受迁徙过程中候鸟粪便的污染，候鸟粪便可能携带禽流感等病毒。

Tyson hopes that safe products will help build its retail brand in a country where it is little known.

泰森食品在中国还不为人所熟知，该公司希望安全的产品将有助于公司在中国打造其零售品牌。

The payoff could be significant. Poultry sales here have been growing faster than those of pork, China's favorite meat, in part because chicken is less expensive. Retailers and fast-food companies are expanding and looking for safe suppliers. The bulk of Tyson's chicken sales in China today are to wholesalers and other meatpackers that use the meat in sausage and other products. About 20% of its sales by volume is for the fast-food sector.

这样做可能带来巨大的回报。中国家禽销售的增速超过了中国人喜爱的猪肉，部分原因在与鸡肉相对便宜。零售商和快餐企业正在扩张，都在寻找安全的供应商。目前，泰森食品在中国销售的鸡肉主要面向批发商以及其他将鸡肉用于生产香肠和其他产品的肉类加工商。该公司销量的大约20%是面向快餐行业。

Minnesota-based Cargill Inc. started processing chicken in China this past spring, opening its own farms and plants as part of a $250 million investment. And Illinois-based OSI Group Inc., a supplier to McDonald's Corp., said recently that it had expanded the poultry farms it operates in China through a joint venture.

总部设在明尼苏达州的嘉吉公司(Cargill Inc.)今年春季开始在中国加工鸡肉。作为一项2.5亿美元投资的一部分，该公司在中国开设了自己的饲养场和工厂。麦当劳(McDonald's Corp.)供应商、总部设在伊利诺伊州的OSI Group Inc.不久前表示，该公司通过一家合资企业扩大了其在中国经营的家禽饲养场。

Building farms is complicated and capital-intensive. Gaining rights to China's scarce agricultural land is difficult. Tyson must find plots without neighbors who raise poultry to mitigate the spread of disease. Government approval of leases can take months, if not years, according to industry executives.

建养鸡场不仅复杂，而且需要大量资本。获取中国稀缺的农业用地权十分困难。泰森食品须找到四周没有家禽饲养的地块，这样可减少疾病的传播。业界高管表示，政府对租赁权的审批可能需要数月、甚至数年时间。

Mr. Sadiq, the Tyson operating chief, says the tax revenue the company provides help its case with officials. But analysts say that provincial authorities generally give preference to local companies. When Tyson gets approval, it often pays compensation or rent to current farmers.

泰森食品首席运营长萨迪克说，公司缴纳的税款会有助于完成政府审批。但分析人士说，省级主管部门一般会优先考虑地方企业。泰森食品若拿到审批，往往要向当前用那些地的农民支付赔偿金或租金。

China's national government generally has supported the move to larger farms to modernize production and improve food safety. The government also has aided the commercial chicken industry by reducing the number of so-called wet markets, where live birds and other farm products are sold to consumers and where viruses can circulate easily.

中国中央政府一般来说对农场扩大规模以实现现代化生产和提高食品安全的做法持支持态度。此外，政府还会通过减少传统市场来辅助商业鸡肉产业。传统市场是指将活禽和其它农产品直接卖给消费者的市场，病毒可轻易传播。

Tyson has had to build roads and bridges and install electrical lines. Cargill is making similar investments, including building 30 miles of roads near its operations in Anhui, a relatively poor eastern province, and splitting the cost with the local government for installing 300 miles of electrical lines.

泰森食品不得不修路搭桥和安装电线。嘉吉目前也在进行类似投资，包位于在中国相对贫困的东部省份安徽该公司农场附近修建30英里（约48公里）的公路，并与当地政府分摊安装300英里（约480公里）电线的费用。

'Embarking on these projects in rural China requires just immense complexity,' says Christopher Langholz, who heads Cargill's animal-protein business in China.

嘉吉动物蛋白中国区总裁梁厚哲(Christopher Langholz)说，在中国农村开展这些项目极为复杂。

Still, executives believe it will pay off. Retailers are selling upscale labels and imported foods to consumers who believe that such products are safer than what is available at traditional markets.

尽管如此，高管们仍认为此举十分划算。零售商目前在销售高档和进口食品，消费者们认为这些产品比传统市场上的食品更安全。

Tyson says its strategy already is winning more business from restaurant chains and retailers. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. 's chief executive for China, Greg Foran, says Tyson has helped minimize the retailer's risk by providing a safe, controlled supply.

泰森食品说，这一策略已经让公司从连锁餐厅和零售商那里获得了更多业务。沃尔玛连锁公司(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)中国业务首席执行长高福澜(Greg Foran)说，由于泰森提供了安全可控的产品供应，沃尔玛的风险降到了最低。

Tyson aims to expand retail sales to 20% of its volume in China from 10% today. But that will require building name recognition and persuading consumers to buy packaged breasts and wings instead of entire birds recently slaughtered at market-and to pay more for chicken billed as higher quality.

泰森食品的目标是将在华零售数量占公司销售总数的比例从目前的10%增至20%。但这不仅要建立品牌识别度，还要说服消费者购买包装好的鸡胸和鸡翅，而不是在市场上买刚刚屠宰好的整鸡，并且让他们愿意为所谓高品质的鸡肉花更多钱。

'Chinese customers don't pay,' says James Rice, a former vice president of Tyson's operations in China who now works for a Chinese liquor company. 'In China, 20% of customers have the purchasing power and the other 80% will buy the cheapest thing.'

泰森食品前中国区运营副总裁、现供职于中国某白酒企业的赖斯(James Rice)说，中国消费者不会花这个钱的；在中国，只有20%的消费者有购买力，其余80%则是捡便宜东西买。

Macy Lu, a 40-year-old homemaker in Shanghai, says she bought Tyson chicken recently because the deboned and skinned thighs were more convenient than what she would have bought elsewhere. It was a 'bit more expensive,' she says, but she felt safer buying the Tyson chicken because of the production date on the label. 'If there is any problem, at least it's traceable.'

40岁的上海家庭主妇Macy Lu说，自己近来买的是泰森鸡肉，因为这些鸡大腿无骨无皮，相较其它地方的鸡腿更为方便。她说，泰森鸡肉是要稍微贵一点，但感觉更安全，因为商标上有生产日期。她说，如果有任何问题，至少是可以追溯的。