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May 11 Tyler Conference
to Tell How to Do Business with Cuba
AgNews.
Texas, April 12, 2005.
TYLER - Thanks to changes in federal trade
sanctions law, exporting food to Cuba is
now not only possible, it promises to be
very profitable for Texas agricultural producers.
"The sanctions changed in 2000. In
2004, U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba
were $385 million, $55 million more than
the previous year. The total to date so
far is about $800 million," said Dr.
Parr Rosson, economist with Texas Cooperative
Extension.
Rosson is the program planner for "Doing
Business with Cuba," a half-day conference
scheduled for May 11 at the chamber of commerce
offices here. Sponsors of the program include
Extension, the Tyler Chamber of Commerce,
the Tyler Economic Development Council,
the Northeast Texas Development Roundtable,
and the Texas-Cuba Trade Alliance.
Prior to the U.S. Trade Sanction Reform
and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, trade
of any sort with Cuba was banned by federal
law. The act lifted the ban on agricultural
products, a classification that includes
wood, lumber and wood products, Rosson said.
Currently, few Texas businesses have taken
advantage of the lifting of the sanctions.
The lion's share of exporting has been done
by Midwestern states. But that doesn't mean
Texas businesses can't profit from trade
with Cuba, he said.
In addition to wood products and lumber,
Rosson sees an opportunity for Texas businesses
to ship cattle, frozen broilers, beef and
processed meats, fish, rice and processed
foods and snack foods. The Cubans are anxious
to improve their beef herds; there's also
opportunity for purebred beef producers.
But the opportunities aren't limited to
these examples, he said.
"Anyone who has the potential to produce
an agricultural product - and export it
- could benefit from this conference,"
Rosson said. For example, in 2004, rice
was the top U.S. export to Cuba, with sales
topping $64 million, seven times the amount
for the same period in 2003. Cuba is now
the third largest market for U.S. rice behind
Japan and Mexico, Rosson said.
A newer export to Cuba is powdered milk.
The value of milk powder exports to Cuba
was $28 million in 2004.
U.S. broiler exports were $59 million for
2004, up 60 percent from the year before.
Exports of corn, wheat, soy flour and soybeans
are also growing. Other exports include
dried vegetables, lumber, cotton, pasta,
tomatoes and prepared tomato products, mustard
and sauces, wine, wooden casks, pork and
lard, grapes, edible offal, fish, onions,
peppers, and fruit juices and bottled waters.
As Cuban tourism expands, economists expect
the market for value-added products to grow
as well, Rosson said. Cuba's total food
imports reached nearly $890 million in 2003,
well above the $750 million of 2002.
"This recent growth is mainly attributable
to more tourists from Canada, Mexico and
Europe. As a result, Cuba is now the number
two (tourist) destination in the Caribbean,
behind the Dominican Republic," Rosson
said.
The program will begin with registration
at 8 a.m. at the chamber of commerce building
at 315. S. Broadway. Speakers and topics
will include:
- A welcome from Tom Mullins, president
of the Tyler Economic Development Council;
- "Cuba: The Expanding Agricultural
Export Market" by Ernesto Plasencia,
first secretary, Cuban Interests Section,
Washington, D.C. (via teleconference);
- "The Cuban Market for Food and Agricultural
Products," Rosson;
- "How to Conduct Business in Cuba,
and Experiences in Exporting," Cynthia
Thomas, president of the Texas-Cuba Trade
Alliance; and
- "Port Facilities and Requirements,"
Ernest Bezdek, director of trade development,
Port of Beaumont.
Registration for the conference is $25.
Participants should make their checks payable
to the Tyler Economic Development Council
and mail them to: TEDC, P.O. Box 2004, Tyler,
TX 75710.
Seating will be limited, so it would be
wise to register early, Rosson said.
For questions and further information,
contact Tom Mullins, (903) 593-2004 ext.
246, or Melissa Conkling, (903) 593-2004
ext. 254. Mullins and Conkling will also
answer questions via e-mail at tmullins@tylertexas.com
andmconkling@tylertexas.com , respectively.
Writer: Robert Burns, (903) 834-6191,rd-burns@tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Parr Rosson, (979) 845-3070,p-rosson@tamu.edu
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