Silk ties and handkerchiefs are forecast to rise in price after the cost of silk jumped to its highest level in at least fifteen years as rapid industrialisation in China, the world's largest supplier, robs the sector of valuable farm land.

　　絲綢領帶和手帕價格預計將會上漲，原因是絲綢成本已飆升到至少15年來的最高水平。中國是全球最大的絲綢供應國，但快速的工業化，從該行業奪走了寶貴的農田。

　　The price of silk cocoons, the raw material for the fabric used in expensive items of clothing, has doubled since the start of 2009 to 92,700Rmb ($13,577) a tonne in mid-April, according to the China Cocoon and Silk Exchange.

　　根據中國繭絲綢交易市場(China Cocoon and Silk Exchange)的數據，蠶繭（貴重衣物所用的面料的原材料）價格自2009年初以來已經翻倍，至4月中旬漲至每噸9.27萬元人民幣（合1.3577萬美元）。

　　European merchants and weavers said the price of raw silk, the variety traded internationally, had followed a similar trend. “It is rising every day, every week,” said Christian Morel Journel, a silk merchant in Lyon, France.

　　歐洲貿易商人和編織業者表示，國際貿易中的生絲價格出現了類似走勢。“每天、每周都在漲價，”法國里昂的絲綢商人克里斯蒂安·莫雷爾·耶內爾(Christian Morel Journel)表示。

　　The urbanisation of the key silk-growing region around Shanghai has reduced the land available for mulberry trees, whose leaves are the only thing silk worms eat.

　　上海附近主要養蠶地區的城市化，減少了桑樹的種植面積，桑葉是蠶的唯一食物。

　　“It's as if you had a very large city in Champagne on the soil of the famous wine,” Mr Morel Journel bemoaned.

　　“這就像在（法國）香檳地區出現一座很大的城市，搶走了本來出產名酒的土地，”莫雷爾·耶內爾惋惜地表示。

　　Chinese output fell 15 per cent to 84,000 tonnes last year, according to the International Sericultural Commission, and a drought that began in late 2009 has further reduced production. China accounts for 70 per cent of global silk production.

　　據國際蠶業委員會(International Sericultural Commission)介紹，中國去年的產出下跌15%，至8.4萬噸，而2009年末開始的干旱，已進一步降低了產量。中國占全球生絲產量的70%。

　　The rally coincides with a surge in the cost of other natural fibres: coarse wool, used for carpets, has soared to the highest level since 1980, while cotton is near a 14-year high.

　　生絲價格上漲之際，其它天然纖維的成本也在激增：用于地毯的粗羊毛價格已飆升至1980年以來的最高水平，而棉花價格也逼近14年高位。

　　Silk accounts for a small part of the final price of fine clothing. But David Tooth, chairman of Vanners, a 270-year-old silk weaver in Suffolk, England, which supplies brands such as Burberry and Ralph Lauren, expects retail prices to rise 10-20 per cent in the near term.

　　生絲在高級絲綢衣物的最終價格中只占一小部分。但在英格蘭薩?？丝?，有270年歷史、向巴寶莉(Burberry)和拉夫·勞倫(Ralph Lauren)等品牌供貨的絲綢編織商Vanners董事長戴維·涂斯(David Tooth)預期，零售價格將在近期內上漲10%-20%。

　　Demand of silk has sagged in modern times with the arrival of artificial fibres, which are cheaper and easier to clean.

　　隨著更便宜、更易于清洗的人造纖維的問世，絲綢需求在現代已經走低。

　　The drop in supply has coincided with an increase in demand that has squeezed the market.

　　此次供應下降之際，適逢需求抬頭，從而對市場形成了擠壓。