KFC fries fish instead of chicken
What is US fast-food chain KFC - the erstwhile Kentucky Fried Chicken - without the chicken? Vietnamese consumers are about to find out.
Vietnam's communist authorities have banned the sale of poultry as part of efforts to control the deadly bird flu that has devastated Asian chicken farms and killed eight people, mostly children, in Vietnam and Thailand.
KFC, one of the few fast-food chains in Vietnam, has closed its eight restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's bustling commercial centre, since the order came down.
But in a bid to boost its battered business, KFC is to reopen its Vietnamese outlets with an all-new fish menu, even fish burgers.
Before the fowl crisis, KFC, a subsidiary of Yum Brands, cooked about 30,000 chickens per month, all sourced from local farms.
But local sourcing of fish, if KFC is so inclined, won't be much of a problem either.
Vietnam's biggest listed fishery, An Giang, saw its shares gain 1.2 per cent yesterday at the prospect of the extra business.
And Vietnam has its own vast export-oriented catfish industry, which increased its exports to the US from $13m in 1999 to $55m in 2002. But that rapid growth came to a sudden halt when Washington imposed heavy anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese catfish last year, after a bitter trade battle that left a sour taste in Hanoi.
Since then, Vietnam's catfish industry, which involves farmers and processors, have been searching out new markets, and also developing products to appeal to local tastes.
The American chain could get a serious public relations boost - perhaps even be awarded national hero status by Hanoi - if it soon pronounces that its initials stand for Kentucky Fried Catfish.
肯德基不炸鸡改炸鱼
如果肯德基（Kentucky Fried Chicken）没有鸡，那么这家以家乡鸡而闻名的美国快餐连锁企业还能提供什么呢？越南的消费者很快就能知道答案了。
越南政府已经发布了家禽出售禁令，以控制禽流感。禽流感的爆发致使亚洲鸡农遭受重创，八人由此丧生，其中大多数为越南和泰国的儿童。
越南的快餐连锁店为数不多，肯德基是其中之一。自越南政府的禁令颁布以后，胡志明市内八家肯德基餐厅暂时关门停业。
为了刺激遭受重创的销售状况，肯德基在越南的分店打算重新开张，推出"以鱼代鸡"的全新菜单，其中甚至还有鱼肉汉堡。
禽流感爆发之前，百胜餐饮集团（Yum Brands）麾下的肯德基每月消耗3万只鸡，全部来自于当地农场。
如果肯德基想从越南当地的渔场采购鱼类，也不将是什么问题。
安江渔场（An Giang）是越南最大的上市渔场。由于肯德基"以鱼代鸡"的举措有望给该渔场带来额外的生意，昨日，该渔场的股价上升了1.2个百分点。
其实，越南外向型的鲇鱼工业规模不小。1999年，越南向美国出口价值1300万美元的鲇鱼，2002年，这个数字升至5500万美元。但去年，越南鲇鱼的出口量增长突然停止，因为美国开始向越南鲇鱼征收高额的反倾销税。在这之前，美越两国爆发了一场剧烈的贸易战，越南受挫。
自那以后，越南的鲇鱼养殖户和加工商便开始寻找新的市场，并开发新的产品以迎合当地消费者的口味。
肯德基这家美国快餐连锁企业也许在公共关系上会因此而有重大突破，甚至还有可能被越南政府称为"民族英雄"。当然，这必须有一个前提条件，即肯德基的首字母（KFC）代表的必须是"肯德基炸鲇鱼"（Kentucky Fried Catfish）。
