Cuban gov't reopens old factories to reduce imports

CUBA-ECONOMY
Cuban gov't reopens old factories to reduce imports
12 de octubre de 2009

Havana, Oct 12 (EFE).- The Cuban government is reopening abandoned
factories to increase manufacturing output and reduce imports amid a
sharp cash crunch caused by the global economic recession, state media
reported Monday.

Among the industrial facilities reopening is a plant operated by Empresa
de Pastas y Caramelos in the eastern city of Santiago that makes
crackers and had been shuttered for nearly a decade, the official daily
Granma said.

"The production line was shut down nine years ago due to the
technological aging of its machinery, breakdowns and problems with raw
materials," Granma said in a front-page story, adding that workers and
state agencies made an effort in recent months to "recover that production."

Council of Ministers vice president and Economy and Planning Minister
Marino Murillo participated in a ceremony over the weekend in Santiago
at which the cracker plant was officially reopened.

A pastry plant "closed for 23 years" was also recently reopened in
Santiago, Granma said.

President Raul Castro's government has sought out foreign investors to
reopen some of the abandoned factories, which contain Soviet-era
equipment, sources in the business community told Efe.

Cuba is experiencing one of its worst economic downturns in decades due
to falling exports, rising import costs, the damage caused by hurricanes
in 2008, the U.S. economic and financial embargo, and the deficiencies
of the island's communist system, among other factors. EFE

La Prensa :: America in English :: Cuban gov't reopens old factories to
reduce imports (12 October 2009)
http://www.laprensasa.com/2.0/3/309/391940/America-in-English/Cuban-gov-t-reopens-old-factories-to-reduce-imports.html