alternatives to the embargo ... !

Cuba expected to curtail food purchases from U.S.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel / January 22 2007

Look for U.S. food sales to Cuba to slow again this year.

Cuban officials told American suppliers that they plan to shift about $300 million in food purchases away from the United States toward friendlier countries in the coming months, according to U.S. executives present at a recent meeting.

The reason: Cuba has been buying food from suppliers in some 30 states in an effort to get those suppliers and their states to lobby Washington to ease the U.S. embargo.

But after six years of buying, the strategy has failed to result in an easing of the embargo, Pedro Alvarez, chief of Cuba's Alimport import agency, told the group last month.

Cuba likely will buy more rice, soy and wheat from Vietnam, China, Argentina and Brazil this year instead of U.S. farmers, said Jay Brickman, vice president of government services for Crowley Maritime Corp., present at the meeting. Crowley ships haul U.S. food products to Cuba from Broward County's Port Everglades, with U.S. authorization.

The Cuban government began slowing purchases from the United States about two years ago, shifting business to such political allies as Venezuela, according to trade reports from Washington and Havana.

In 2005, the United States sold $350.2 million in food to Cuba, down 11 percent from the previous year, according to U.S. government compiled by the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council of New York.

U.S. food sales to Cuba were roughly flat at $317 million through November last year, compared with the 2005 period, the council said.

The slowdown in U.S. sales comes as Cuba boosts imports overall amid its best economic performance in years. Generous subsidies from oil supplier Venezuela and trade credits from China are fueling growth.

Cuba posted nearly $7 billion in total imports in 2005 and expected to import nearly $8 billion last year, Havana said.