CUBANET ... CUBANEWS

December 17, 2001



Cuba News

Miami Herald

Published Monday, December 17, 2001 in The Miami Herald.

2 U.S. food shipments arrive in Cuba

HAVANA -- (AP) -- The first U.S. commercial food shipments arrived in communist Cuba on Sunday, raising hopes among people in both countries that the symbolic act will be a foot in the door to future trade.

Carrying 26,400 tons of American corn, the Mexican freighter M.V. Ikan Mazatlán passed the lighthouse built atop an old Spanish fortress at the entrance of Havana Bay, coming from New Orleans on a two-day trip. It was one of two ships that arrived in Havana with the first direct commercial agricultural exports from the United States to Cuba since 1963.

Earlier Sunday, a freighter operated by Crowley Liner Services of Jacksonville, arrived with about 500 tons of frozen chicken parts valued at about $300,000, said Pedro Alvarez Borrego, president of the Cuban government food import company Alimport.

The ship Express, flying a Liberian flag, left Gulfport, Miss., on Friday.

Representatives of American agribusiness and some U.S. officials hope the shipments will lead to increased trade with Cuba, eventually creating a new market for U.S. exports. Trade between the countries was extremely heavy before the U.S. government imposed trade sanctions on Fidel Castro's government nearly 40 years ago.

"We are heartened and cautiously optimistic,'' said Larry Cunningham, senior vice president of corporate communications for agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland of Decatur, Ill.

"This proves that it makes logical sense for Cuba and the United States to trade with one another,'' he said. "We think the best way to improve relations with countries is for them to become trading partners.''

Sunday's shipment includes corn from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Under its sales contract with Cuba, the agribusiness company, ADM, is to send seven more shipments of wheat, soy, rice and other grains through the end of February, Cunningham said. The contracts have a combined market value of about $14 million, the company has said.

Anti-Castro Cuban exiles say the direct sale of American food could erode the embargo.

Castro last week called the purchase "a friendly response to a friendly gesture.'' He apparently was referring to the U.S. offer of humanitarian aid after Hurricane Michelle hit Cuba last month, destroying crops and thousands of homes. The offer was politely rejected, but Castro said more purchases would be possible if Washington allowed Cuba to sell its products in the United States.

Nearly all trade between the two nations is banned under the U.S. embargo. Congress passed a law last year that permitted the sale of American food to Cuba for humanitarian purposes but barred government and private U.S. financing of such sales.

U.S. ships food to Cuba for hurricane relief

By Alan Sayre . Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- Carrying 24,000 tons of corn for hurricane relief, a freight ship left New Orleans Friday with the first commercial export of U.S. food to Cuba since 1963. U.S. officials voiced hope that the shipment would boost the negligible amount of trade between the two nations.

"This is a bridge we need to build,'' said Illinois Gov. George Ryan, whose state produced some of the corn. "Corn is forming a bridge today that we need to build with the people of Cuba.''

But an anti-Castro group said the shipment would be used as a wedge to end the United States' four-decade trade embargo against the communist nation and allow Cuba to "export terrorism'' to the United States.

George J. Fowler III, general counsel of the pro-embargo Cuban American National Foundation, said his group favored humanitarian shipments meant to replenish Cuba's reserves lost in last month's Hurricane Michelle.

But Fowler asked why, if the current shipment is so vital, the freighter took a 20-hour stop in New Orleans for a news conference.

"This press conference is about a show about lifting the embargo,'' Fowler said at the port.

"Cuba is a terrorist nation,'' Fowler said. Unrestricted trade with Cuba, he said, will "put money in Castro's pocket, since he owns everything, to export his revolution and terrorism to the detriment of the United States.''

The freighter M.V. Ikan Mazatlan was loaded at an Archer Daniels Midland port a few miles up the Mississippi River and brought to New Orleans Thursday. It left shortly after Friday's ceremony for a two-day voyage to Havana.

A shipment of frozen chickens to Cuba is expected to depart later this month. Archer Daniels Midland was contracted to deliver to Cuba 96,000 metric tons of food items, including corn, soybean meal, wheat and rice, through February.

Copyright 2001 Miami Herald

[ BACK TO THE NEWS ]

Cuban independent press mailing list

La Tienda - Books, posters, t-shirts, caps

In Association with Amazon.com

Search:


SEARCH NEWS

Advance Search


SECCIONES

NOTICIAS
Prensa Independiente
Prensa Internacional
Prensa Gubernamental

OTHER LANGUAGES
Spanish
German
French

INDEPENDIENTES
Cooperativas Agrícolas
Movimiento Sindical
Bibliotecas
MCL

DEL LECTOR
Letters
Cartas
Debate
Opinión

BUSQUEDAS
News Archive
News Search
Documents
Links

CULTURA
Painters
Photos of Cuba
Cigar Labels

CUBANET
Semanario
About Us
Informe 1998
E-Mail


CubaNet News, Inc.
145 Madeira Ave,
Suite 207
Coral Gables, FL 33134
(305) 774-1887