The Chinese food group Cofco has suffered another setback¹ in its efforts to become one of the world’s leading agricultural traders after discovering a $150m hole in the accounts of Nidera, the Dutch grain house it secured control of in 2014.

中国食品集团中粮(Cofco)成为世界领先农产品贸易商之一的努力再次遭遇挫折，该集团发现其于2014年获得控股权的荷兰谷物经销商Nidera的账目出现了1.5亿美元的亏空。

People close to the situation told the Financial Times that the hole in the accounts of Nidera’s Brazilian operations related to so-called prepayment deals, where a trader pays a supplier for its commodities ahead of them being delivered.

知情人士对英国《金融时报》表示，Nidera巴西业务的账目亏空与所谓的预付款交易有关，即交易商在货物交付前预先向供应商支付货款。

Nidera said yesterday that it had discovered an “accounting² issue” at its Brazilian business during a review of the unit’s balance sheet.

Nidera昨日表示，在对巴西业务资产负债表的审查过程中发现了“会计问题”。

The $150m hole in Nidera’s accounts is the second significant issue to arise since Cofco bought a majority stake in the Dutch company.

此次Nidera账目的1.5亿美元亏空，是中粮收购这家荷兰企业多数股权以来出现的第二起重大问题。

In 2015, Nidera posted its first net loss in five years after discovering $200m in unauthorised trading losses. A spokesman for Nidera said the company was investigating the exact cause of the new accounting issue.

2015年，由于发现2亿美元未经授权的交易损失，Nidera报告了五年来的首次净亏损。Nidera的一位发言人表示，该公司正在调查此次新出现的会计问题的确切原因。

After the FT reported the $150m hole in Nidera’s accounts, the company said in a statement: “As part of the Nidera board’s plan to improve controls and risk management under the chairmanship and majority ownership of Cofco, the new executive leadership initiated³ a group-wide balance sheet review.

在英国《金融时报》报道了Nidera账目1.5亿美元亏空后，该公司在一份声明中表示：“在以中粮为主席和控股股东的领导下，作为Nidera董事会改进控制和风险管理计划的一部分，新执行领导层在整个集团范围发起了资产负债表审查。”

“The review recently unveiled an accounting issue in the Brazil balance sheet.”

“最近的审查在巴西的资产负债表中发现了一个会计问题。”

Nidera added that Cofco has underwritten a loan for the Dutch company to ensure it does not breach⁴ banking⁵ covenants⁶. Cofco did not respond to emails and calls seeking comment.

Nidera补充说，中粮已经为其担保了一笔贷款，以确保这家荷兰公司不违反银行契约。中粮没有回复记者寻求置评的电子邮件和电话。

The company has ambitions to become one of the world’s leading agricultural traders, and compete with companies including Cargill and Archer⁷ Daniels Midland.

中粮立志成为世界领先的农产品贸易商之一，与嘉吉(Cargill)、阿彻丹尼尔斯米德兰(Archer Daniels Midland)等巨头抗衡。

During the past two years, Cofco has spent more than $4bn buying Nidera and the agricultural trading arm of Noble Group.

过去两年，中粮斥资逾40亿美元收购了Nidera以及来宝集团(Noble Group)的农业贸易部门。

Cofco is planning to list its agricultural trading operations, called Cofco Agri, once it has combined the Nidera and Noble businesses.

中粮计划，一旦完成对Nidera和来宝业务的整合，将让旗下农产品贸易部门中粮农业(Cofco Agri)上市。

It was during the preparation of financial statements for Cofco Agri that the $150m hole in Nidera’s accounts was discovered, said one person close to the situation.

一位知情人士表示，Nidera账目1.5亿美元亏空正是在为中粮农业准备财务报表的过程中发现的。

A second person added that the integration⁸ of Nidera into Cofco Agri could be delayed by the discovery.

另一位知情人表示，此次发现的问题可能推迟中粮农业整合Nidera的进程。

Cofco bought a majority stake in Nidera for $1.3bn in 2014, and then moved to secure full ownership in March, paying $750m for the 49 per cent that it did not already hold from families who founded the Rotterdam-based trading house almost a century ago.

2014年，中粮以13亿美元收购了Nidera多数股权，后于今年3月以7.5亿美元收购了剩余49%的股份，实现了对Nidera股权的买断，卖家是近一个世纪前创立这家总部位于鹿特丹的经销商的家族。

Unlike their counterparts in oil, agricultural traders have experienced a tough couple of years because of unfavourable market conditions.

与石油企业不同，由于市场情况不利，农产品贸易商这两年处境维艰。

A persistent⁹ supply glut¹⁰ has weighed on crop prices and reduced opportunities to move cargoes¹¹ around the world.

持续的供应过剩对粮食价格造成了重压，并使得在世界各地交易农产品的机会减少。