-----------------------Consumer-goods giant risk going hungry
rocking the market:distress so as to desabilise/weaken
comsumer goods:thins made to be sold——final goods
When Vladimir Putin's tanks rolled into Ukraine in late February, crude-oil markets reacted instantly to the uncertainty and , in short order, to the sanctions imposed on Russia, the world's second-biggest exporter of the black stuff. The war's impact on another set of crucial oils——the edible vegetable fats such as sun flower oil, of which Ukrine and Russia are the world's two biggest exporters-has taken longer to digest. It is now causing heartburn for the consumer-goods giants that use them by the tonne to make everything from snacks to lipstick.
crude-oil: a raw natural resource extracted from the earth. It is currently the primary source of energy production.
In short order: quickly / rapidly / soon / swift
sanction: sanctions are penalties imposed by one country on another, to stop it acting aggressively, or breaking international law.
black stuff(or black gold): the another name for crude oil.
causing heartburn: indigestion, burning in the cheset , acidity. Here it's a double entendre, meaning it's hard for comsumer goods giants who mainly produces foods to digest, which is causing theme heartburn.
Exports from war-torn Ukraine have all but stopped. Russia has placed an export quota on its sunflower oil. Worries about scarce supplies have led countries including Egypt and Turkey to ban exports of edible oils. And from April 28th Indonesia has banned exports of palm oil, another widely traded variety.
war-torn Ukranie:(of a place) racked or devastated by war.
all but: very nearly, just about
export quota:出口限制 place a quota is means a government-imposed trade restriction that limits the number or monetary value of goods that a country can import or export during a particular period.
The archipelagic country sold $18bn-worth of the stuff abroad in 2020, accounting for half of all palm-oil exports. So the move sent prices, which had dipped after the initial war-induced spike,soaring again(see chart). A tonne of palm oil for delivery in May is trading at over $1,700,70% higher than the average spot price in2021. This is piling more inflationary pressure on golbal producers of consumer goods-and sabotaging their environmental bona fides.
archipelagic country:群岛国家 an extensive group of islands. Here means Indonesia.
the stuff: here means the oils.
dip: sink / drop / pr slope downwards / plunge / crash
splike: sudden(upward or downward, usually up) change of price, spike the price
soaring: shoot up / escalate / go through the roof/ceiling
spot price: 现货价格. on the spot = now
average spot price VS futures price: A commodity's spot price is the current cost of that particular commodity, for current purchase, payment, and delivery. In commodity spot contracts, payment is required immediatedly, as is delivery. The deal is done "on the spot"——hence, the name "spot price".
pilling something on: making it a whole pile of things. We can say pile more pressure on someone.
sabotage: means wreck something to destroy something, ususally it's on purpose. destroy / damage / obstruct(something) / wrecking .
bona fides: a person's honesty and sincerity of intention.
Unilever, a soap-to-soup group, spent $2.7bn on palm oil last year, around 15% of its total spending on commidities. Procter&Gamble, a similarly sprawing giant, and big packaged-goods firms like Mondelez and Nestle are in a similar pickle. Everyone is paying more for soyabean view the big consumer forms as being resilient to economic shocks. But as input prices rise some may be beginning to doubt the companies' ability to pass on the extra costs to shoppers, who are becoming fed up with rising bills.
a soap-to-soup group: means the products that the company(Unilever) has is ranging from soap to soup.
packaged-goods: 快销产品 Consumer packaged goods(CPG) are items daily by average consumers taht require routine replacement or replenishment.
in a pickle: be in a (pretty) pickle, in a difficult situation.
resilient: means to be able to recover quickly.
input price: means all the costs that go into priducing a good or service
The ban, which does not have a specified end date, will also complicate the companies' efforts to present themselves as environmentally responsible. Palm-oil production has historically often come at the expense of rainforests, which were razed in places like Indonesia to make room for plantations. Today Nestle says that 90% of the palm oil it purchased in 2021 was certified as deforestation-free, thanks to close monitoring of supply chains, form the plantation to the port. Such capacity has taken years to develop in Indinesia and will be hard to replicate elsewhere at a short notice. If the Swiss giant and tis rivals have to resort to buying oils from more opoaque places, that could leave a greasy stain on thier carefully manicured green reputations.
historical VS historic: 有关历史的 vs 有历史性意义的 Historical is used as the general term for describing history, such as the historical record, while historic is now usually reserved for important and famous moments in history ,such as a historic battle.
come at the expense of: 以...为代价
raze: to scrape / cut / shave off
at short notice: pronto/with little warning or time for preparation
resort to: fall back on , turn to: adopt(a course of action, especially an extreme or undesirable one) so as to resolve a difficult situation.
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