American agribusiness pushes ahead on trade with Cuba

[Judi Lynn]

American agribusiness pushes ahead on trade with Cuba

By ANITA SNOW, Associated Press
(Published Monday, December 15, 2003, 12:09 PM)



HAVANA (AP) - American food producers pushed ahead on new trade with communist Cuba on Monday, signing the first contracts in three days of negotiations expected to result in as much as $130 million in new sales.
Scores of farmers, port operators and supermarket representatives from around the United States watched Monday morning as Pedro Alvarez, head of the Cuban import company Alimport, signed contracts to buy $4.7 million worth of rice from Riceland Foods Inc. of Stuttgart, Ark.

Later, Alvarez signed contracts for Cuba to buy $700,000 in peas and lentils from PS International Ltd., of Chapel Hill, N.C., and $600,000 in chicken leg quarters from Gold Kist of Atlanta.

"How times have changed!" Alvarez said, noting that just two years ago there was no trade at all between the two countries that have been without diplomatic ties for more than four decades. (snip/...)

http://www.fresnobee.com/24hour/business/story/1088865p-7606390c.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Reuters article: U.S. Agribusiness Lauds Cuba Trade at Havana Meet

U.S. Agribusiness Lauds Cuba Trade at Havana Meet
1 hour, 32 minutes ago


By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness, shipping and farm representatives lauded two years of trade with Cuba on Monday and called for an end to sanctions on the Communist-run nation as they negotiated contracts for the new year.



"The Cuban market represents a great opportunity for U.S. agriculture ... Cargill supports normalizing relations between our two countries," Thomas Rahn, a senior executive with the world's largest privately held agribusiness, said at the opening of a conference to mark the anniversary.


James Sumner, president of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Export Council, said Cuba was now the sector's 8th market.


Some 250 Americans are attending the conference, the largest gathering of U.S. business interests in the island since a U.S. agriculture trade show in September of last year. (snip/...)

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031215/us_nm/cuba_usa_dc_1

[Osolomia]

4. Considering that news of last year's trade fair wasn't fit to print on DU

and would get you banned for daring to ask why, times sure have changed!

[Mika]

2. This is a "jobless recovery" - we don't need no stinkin' jobs here

Maybe you didn't get the notice from bunker boy.

[Osolomia]

3. Iowa Ag Sec: "Cuban products must be allowed into my country."

"The answer to our differences is communication, not isolation," Iowa Agriculture Secretary Patty Judge told the gathering. "We should be tearing barriers down, not building barriers.

Judge also called for two-way trade between the two nations:
"Cuban products must be allowed into my country."

--
Times sure have changed, what a shame the Dems are still pleading ignorance to justify their pandering to the extremist minority.