China Slaps Tax on Disposable Chopsticks
By MARI YAMAGUCHI, AP ONLINE

TOKYO (AP) - Walk into any Japanese noodle shop or restaurant and chances are high you'll soon be eating with a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks from China.

But not for long. In a move that has cheered environmentalists but worried restaurant owners, China has slapped a 5 per cent tax on the chopsticks over concerns of deforestation. The move is hitting hard at the Japanese, who consume a tremendous 25 billion sets of wooden chopsticks a year - about 200 pairs per person. Some 97 per cent of them come from China.

走进任何一家日本餐馆就餐时，顾客都有机会使用一次性筷子，不过这样的日子已经不长了。在中国为保护森林资源限制树木砍伐而决定对一次性筷子征收5%消费税后，环保主义者们雀跃欢呼，可日本餐饮业的店主们却忧心忡忡。中国对一次性筷子征收5%消费税的举动，正给日本餐饮业造成打击。日本每年共用掉250亿双一次性筷子，每人平均每年用掉200双，而日本市场上97%的一次性筷子都是从中国进口的。

Chinese chopstick exporters have responded to the tax increase and a rise in other costs by slapping a 30 per cent hike on chopstick prices - with a planned additional 20 per cent hike currently pending.

The increase has sent Japanese restaurants scrambling to find alternative sources for chopsticks, which are called "waribashi" in Japanese.

"We're not in an emergency situation yet, but there has been some impact," said Ichiro Fukuoka, director of Japan Chopsticks Import Association.

中国出口商已对5%的消费税作出回应，将一次性筷子的价格提高了30%，同时还计画再在此基础上提高20%。中国筷子价格的提高，已让日本餐馆的店主很难找到能替代的筷子进口源。日本筷子进口联合会负责人称，“虽然我们现在还没处在形势危急之中，但已经遭到一些冲击。”

A pair of waribashi that used to cost a little over 1 yen ($0.01) now is 1.5-1.7 yen. The rising costs of raw wood and transportation because of higher oil prices have also contributed to the rise, industry officials said.

But pretty soon, some fear Japan won't even be able to get expensive chopsticks from China: Japanese newspapers Mainichi and Nihon Keizai reported that China is expected to stop waribashi exports to Japan as early as 2008.

日本餐馆所使用的筷子通常每双只需1日元，相当于1美分，但现在却已长到1.5至1.7日元。日本餐饮业官员称，原木价格的上涨和油价升高所造成的交通运输价格的上涨，已使一次性筷子的价格不断上涨。日本媒体称，一些人担心在不久的将来恐怕日本连价格昂贵的中国筷子都得不到了，因为中国有可能在2008年前下令停止向日本出口筷子。

To minimize the damage, Japanese importers now buy more bamboo chopsticks and are considering new suppliers, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Russia, said Fukuoka.

Convenience store operators try to cushion the impact through cost-cutting in distribution and transportation.

"We provide chopsticks only to customers who ask for them," said Mayumi Ito, a spokeswoman for Seven & I Holdings Co., owner of 7-Eleven convenience stores. "We're closely watching the development."

为了把中国筷子所造成的冲击减到最小，现在日本进口商正在购买更多的竹子筷子，并正在越南、马来西亚和俄罗斯寻找新的供应商。与此同时，日本的一些方便店也开始减少批发，来缓解目前的筷子冲击。东京一家7-11方便店管理人员介绍说，他们现在只向那些定过货的顾客提供筷子，“我们正在密切关注这一事态的发展。”

Disposable chopsticks produced by domestic makers accounted to half of the market share until about 20 years ago, but were taken over by cheaper and high quality Chinese counterparts, mostly produced by Japan-China joint venture.

20年前，日本消费的一次性筷子中一半是国产的。但90年代后，大量便宜的中国筷子流入日本，不知不觉占领了日本市场的九成。(日本两大一次性筷子生产地之一的奈良凭藉高级产品生存下来，北海道的一次性筷子产业则几乎崩溃。)

Supporters of environmental cause see the development a chance to get rid of disposable chopsticks, which have been linked to deforestation and a wasteful lifestyle.

An Osaka-based restaurant chain operator Marche Corp. switched to reusable plastic chopsticks in February at all 760 outlets after testing various materials and a six-month tryout at one-third of its outlets, said company spokesman Michihiro Ajioka.

The chain still keeps waribashi in stock in case customers have trouble snaring noodles with plastic chopsticks, he said. Customers who bring personal chopsticks also get a small discount.

日本约有七百六十家的居酒屋从今年2月起已全面将一次性筷子转成塑胶筷，预计一年可少用1500万双筷子，餐饮业者也开始鼓励消费者用餐自备筷子，并用免费餐饮招待与优惠等活动作为回馈。

A pair of 130 yen ($1.17) plastic chopsticks can be reused some 130 times, whose cost per use matches a pair of waribashi, Ajioka said.

"So far, we haven't received any complaints," he said. "The amount of garbage has decreased significantly, which is definitely better for the environment."