Cuba sharply reduces US food imports amid hardship

Posted on Wednesday, 02.10.10
Cuba sharply reduces US food imports amid hardship
By PAUL HAVEN
Associated Press Writer

HAVANA -- Cuba has slashed food and agriculture imports from the United
States - its largest food supplier despite decades of sour relations -
as the communist government tightens its belt in the face of a crippling
economic malaise.

Imports fell 26 percent in 2009 to $528 million, after peaking at $710
million the year before, according to a report Wednesday by the New
York-based U.S.-Cuba Economic Trade Council, which provides nonpartisan
commercial and economic information about the island and claims to have
no position on policy.

"The decrease has nothing to do with U.S. regulations, U.S. law or U.S.
policy," said John Kavulich, a senior policy analyst at the council. "It
is a function of Cuba not having the resources."

Kavulich said Cuba has increasingly turned to other countries like
Vietnam that will sell it lower-quality food and not ask for payment for
as long as two years.

Despite the half-century feud across the Straits of Florida, the United
States is the largest seller of food to Cuba: Food and agriculture
products have been exempted from the 48-year embargo since 2000.

Cuba waited more than a year after that to start importing U.S. food -
angered by a provision requiring it to pay cash upfront before delivery.

But a hurricane in late 2001 hurt food production and gave it little
choice. Today, Cubans getting food from monthly ration books eat chicken
from Arkansas and wheat from Nebraska. Upscale markets stock everything
from Kellogg's cereal to Heinz ketchup to Oreo cookies - though the
prices are exorbitant.

Imports from other major trading partners such as Venezuela, China and
Spain are also down. Rodrigo Malmierca, the minister of foreign trade,
said in November that trade during the first three quarters of 2009 was
off 36 percent.

Cuba's economy has recently been hit by a triple-whammy of bad news:
Three major hurricanes did more than $10 billion in damage in 2008, the
global economic crisis dampened tourism profits and a drop in
commodities prices hurt nickel sales for much of 2009.

President Raul Castro has tried to offset falling imports by increasing
domestic agriculture production, turning over tens of thousands of
hectares (acres) of fallow land to small farmers.

He has warned repeatedly that the government can no longer afford to
spend so much subsidizing life on the island, and that Cubans must work
harder and take more responsibility for their economic well-being.

The government controls well over 90 percent of the economy and heavily
subsidizes all aspects of life while paying an average salary of about
$20 a month. Cubans get free health care and education, and usually pay
next-to-nothing for housing and utilities.

Havana has taken baby-steps toward changing that system, eliminating
some staples from the ration book, dropping free lunches for workers at
some state enterprises and trimming health and education spending.

Cuba sharply reduces US food imports amid hardship - World AP -
MiamiHerald.com (11 February 2010)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1473187.html