化為六月息

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【主播】就在全球華人歡度中國新年之際，一年一度的西洋情人節也即將到來。全美有三分之二的花卉，進口自哥倫比亞(Colombia)。哥國花卉栽種官員表示，今年可望出口一百五十萬箱的花卉，這將帶來二億六千萬美元的收入。


【配音】隨著情人節將至，哥倫比亞的花卉出口商正準備把各種美麗的花，船運到美國去。為了這筆大生意，哥國的花農則雇用了將近二十萬名的工人，把即將運往美國的花卉備妥。這些出口到美國的花，首先得搭上三個鐘頭的船運抵邁阿密(Miami)，然後再分銷全美各地。有些情人節花束的售價，可以高達七十美元。

一間花卉栽植農場的主人喬斯 ( Jose Figueroa ) 說：「對我們而言，情人節前後是最重要的時候，因為美國的情侶在此時會以花傳情、慶祝情人節，而這也佔了我們全年銷售總額的百分之三十左右。至於其餘的銷售，則分散在北美地區、歐洲與俄羅斯市場的其他重要節日，或是宴會派對上。」

不過，仍有必須要面對的現實存在。由於受到美元疲軟、油價攀高與工資上漲的衝擊，許多哥國花農不得不裁減人力。在過去幾年以來，已有2萬名花卉栽植場的勞動者，遭到解雇。也因此，對於哥國花農來說，情人節所帶來的商機，變的更為重要。



※ 正式新聞稿與影像：「新唐人電視台」






※ The original article was taken from Reuters Website.  ( 原文取自路透社網站 )




-----【原文對照】-----

MORE INFO: Rosy business for Valentine's Day Two out of every three flowers sold in the United States come from Colombia and floriculture officials said they hoped to ship out 1.5 million boxes of flowers that should bring in $260 million.


STORY:  It's that time of the year again...Valentine's Day is around the corner and Colombia's flower exporters are getting ready to ship flowers to their largest customer- the United States-that accounts for about 80 percent of Colombia's flower exports.

That's big business of Colombia's flower producers who employ almost 200,000 people. Workers prepare the flowers for their three hour journey to Miami, from where they will be distributed throughout the United States. Some of these bouquets cost up to 70-dollars. 

Jose Figueroa who is the head of a flower farm said:” The most important season for us is still around Valentine's Day, the celebration for couples in the United States. During this time we move approximately 30 percent of the year's total volume. The rest is distributed on the other holidays and parties for the North American market as well as the European and Russian markets.” 

But not everything is so rosy. A weak U.S dollar, high oil prices and rising labor costs has meant cuts in the work force- 20,000 plantation workers have been laid off over the last several years---which makes Valentine's day even more crucial for Colombia's flower producers.  Officials said they hoped to ship out 1.5 million boxes of flowers that should bring in $260 million--keeping cupid in business too.