U.S. Farm Producers Travel to Cuba

U.S. Farm Producers Travel to Cuba
1 hour, 42 minutes ago

By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press Writer

HAVANA - The door to American trade with Cuba was nudged open a bit more this weekend as more than 250 U.S. agribusiness representatives traveled here for sales talks, marking the second anniversary of the first U.S. commercial food shipments to the communist island.

Pedro Alvarez, head of Cuba's food import company, Alimport, told The Associated Press on Saturday that he expected at least $130 million in new sales contracts would be signed during four days of talks, which begin Monday.


"We've had a really strong response from companies" to the government's invitation to participate in the talks, said Alvarez, adding that 147 companies from 29 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico are expected to attend.


Alvarez said the companies included Riceland Foods Inc. of Stuttgart, Ark.; Cargill Inc., of Minnetonka, Minn.; Archer Daniels Midland of Decatur, Iowa; FC Stone of Des Moines, Iowa; and Kaehler's Homedale Farms in St. Charles, Minn.


The steady interest by American agribusiness in Cuba comes despite a tightening of restrictions on the island by the Bush administration, including stepped-up enforcement of rules on American travel. (snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031213/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cuba_us_agribusiness_1

while all the leading Democratic presidential contenders still pander to the extremist right wing pro-embargo minority. Apparently the agribusiness folks' votes and campaign contributions don't count as much as the Miami mafia's.

snips/...

... But a law passed in 2000 made an exception to the four-decade-old U.S. trade embargo, allowing direct, commercial sales of American farm products to the Caribbean country on a cash basis.

Alvarez said that since then Cuba has signed contracts to buy $509 million worth of American farm goods.

... Arriving in Havana on Saturday was Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks and the state's top congressional representatives, who said they hoped to drum up new business for their state's producers.

... High-ranking Republicans also have traveled here in support of increased trade with Cuba.

... The first shipment, $300,000 worth of chicken parts, sailed into Havana Bay from Gulfport, Miss. on Dec. 16, 2001.

.../snip

Dec 16, 2001 was an historic event the significance of which evidently escapes Dems with their heads in the sand to this day.