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Food Sales to Cuba Fall as Direct Result of Washington’s Blockade
Cuba’s purchase of agricultural products
in the United States has fallen over the past few years due to difficult
conditions imposed on those transactions by Washington’s economic
blockade on the island.
The president of the Cuban food import enterprise Alimport, Pedro Alvarez,
told reporters in Havana that such imports from the U.S. kept increasing
over the past years to reach a peak in 2005, but they fell over the past
few years, despite predictions indicating a steady growth, given their
mutual benefit for both countries.
The fall of imports is due to the US blockade’s reinforced hurdles
on the Cuban purchases, which make imports unsafe, along with lack of
credit lines, Alvarez said, and he noted that such a reality has forced
Cuba to import foodstuffs from other markets, which offer safer transactions
and credit; those are two aspects to have into account particularly amidst
the international economic crisis that has caused a food price hike, he
said.
The executive pointed out that such inconvenient situation does not suggest
any growth of Cuban imports from the United States, although US entrepreneurs
are very committed to the exchange with high quality products, and despite
the short distance between both territories.
Alvarez explained that legislative restrictions adopted by Washington
establish that any US company interested in doing business with Cuba first
has to request a license from the Treasury Department to travel to the
island. In case of reaching any accord and before signing the deal, the
US company must request another license from the Department of Commerce
to close the deal and later it would require a Letter of Credit issued
first from a Cuban bank to an European bank, then from this one to its
branch office in the U.S. and finally from the bank of the US provider
in its country.
The participation of three or four banks in such operations generates
additional costs and the risk of mistakes in the management of documents.
Additionally, the third country bank also requires a license from the
Treasury Department in Washington in order to operate.
On the other hand, in order to transport merchandize to Cuba, shipping
companies require another license from the Treasury. And after unloading
their cargo in Cuban ports, they must return empty to the U.S. because
Washington prohibits the import of Cuban products into the United States.
And if this were not enough, a recent US regulation allows the US Coast
Guard Service to intercept and search any boats travelling with merchandise
from the U.S. to Cuba under the arbitrary pretext that the Caribbean nation
does not have the necessary controls to avoid terrorist acts [we’ll
bring you more on this subject in upcoming reports].
Cuba Producing Effective Bio-Nutrient for Sugar
Cane Production
A bio-nutrient, which noticeably increases the
yield of sugarcane fields, is currently being produced and applied in
Cuba. The product known as FitoMas was developed by experts with the Cuban
Center for Research on Sugar Cane Derivatives (ICIDCA).
The use of the bio-nutrient, with an over-one-million-litter production
thus far, on 250, 000 hectares planted with sugar cane in 13 provinces
has helped lower the import of similar growth-stimulating products at
the world market, said the director of the plant producing FitoMass, Alberto
Garcia.
Domestic commercialization of the bio-nutrient started in 2000 after being
certified by the Cuban fertilizer and pest control registration office.
The product has ecological anti-stress effects in the event of drought
and lack of nutrients, and it also helps replace fertilization and herbicide
application up to 20 percent.
The bio-nutrient was also applied on another 42 crops as it proved effective
in stepping up degradation of organic matter and in countering land salinization,
excess of humidity, among other negative factors.
Alberto García pointed out that the nutrient also encourages seed
germination and the growth of stems, roots and leaves and it helps fight
pests and diseases in plants.
Coffee Growers in Eastern Cuba Kick off Harvest with Positive Expectations
The 2009-2010 coffee harvest kicked off in eastern Santiago de Cuba province
with prospects for a 5 percent increase over last year, higher quality
beans and increasing exports. Coffee plantations in Santiago contribute
the largest production of coffee in Cuba.
The director of the coffee enterprise in the Tercer Frente municipality,
Edilberto Rosales, said that all conditions favor the collection of coffee
given the introduction of new methods, which include the planting of 268
hectares of land annually and expanding the planting with specific coffee
varieties to areas at 300 meters below the sea level.
Rosales stressed the need to focus mainly on planting, rehabilitation
and systematic pruning of plantations, as well as the introduction of
achievements attained by the Central Station for Coffee and Cocoa Research,
like the grafting of Arabica and Robusta varieties.
Cuban Vegetable Preserves Industry Increases Production
In an effort to replace costly imports, an enterprise
in central Ciego de Avila province produced over 100 tons of pickles and
fruit preserves from January through July; considered the largest yield
of the industry in a similar period over the past three years.
Industry director Antonio Rojas said that the pickles are being sold in
tourist centers and the local markets, while his entity expects to increase
production up to 180 tons of preserved vegetables this year.
The preservers are made from vegetables and condiments collected in local
agricultural cooperatives, which produce cucumbers, carrots, onions, pepper,
cabbage, beet and other varieties.
The hard income stemming from such sales in the tourist sector is dedicated
to making investment in the agriculture sector, including the setting
up of new seed banks, the improvement of mechanization and watering systems
and to purchase resources crucial for the economic field, executives said.
The products have already reached local restaurants, where they are very
welcomed by tourists visiting the island, according to Jose Modesto Cruz,
manager of the restaurant at the Blau Colonial Hotel in Cayo Coco key,
off the northern Cuban coast.
Other agricultural enterprises in Ciego de Avila are currently producing
pickles destined to social consumption in work centers, schools, and hospitals.
Using Oxen in Agriculture Helps Produce Food and
Saves Fuel
The use of oxen in agricultural activity increases
in Cuba in the face of the world economic crisis and its impact on fuel
availability. The traditional initiative is being applied in a large number
of state enterprises and cooperative farms in central Cuba.
In Ciego de Avila province for instance, agricultural entities have applied
the technique in substitution for some 200 tractors, while the production
contributed reached 170, 000 tons of food. The use of oxen is appropriate
to transport produce, to work the land and particularly for cultivation
activity in tobacco-leaf plantations, said executive Ulises Perez Correa
in Ciego de Avila.
Nearly 100 percent of fresh milk production being commercialized in some
333 grocery stores in the province is being transported by oxen and horses
every day, said the president of the Small Farmers Association in the
central province, Noel Gil Plasencia.
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