Recent Farm Group Trips to Cuba

 

There was much interaction and engagement between U.S. farm groups and Cuba in 2002.  A number of farmers and Farm Bureau officials traveled to Cuba in 2002 to negotiate trade deals, explore future trade possibilities and to see the island.  A number of other farm groups have trips to Cuba planned for this year.  According to the AFBF, farm groups that plan to travel Cuba in 2003 include delegations from Ohio and Maryland.  The Maryland delegation will include Farm Bureau members. 

 

AFBF November 2002 Delegation

In November 2002, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman led a weeklong delegation of state Farm Bureau presidents to Cuba to explore opportunities for further U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba.  The state presidents that went on the trip were Terry McClure of Ohio, Steve Kouplan of Oklahoma, David Winkles of South Carolina, Howard Poulson of Wisconsin and Karen Henry of Wyoming, along with Mary Kay Thatcher, AFBF deputy director of public policy. 

 

Stallman said the trip was extremely positive.  He commented, “Anytime we can sell more of our products overseas, it’s beneficial [to U.S. producers] . . . We think Cuba could be a very important market, long-term, for American agricultural producers.”  (Reuters, 12/28/02)  Ohio FB president McClure echoed that, pointing out why the U.S. and Cuba are natural trading partners: “We don’t have a lot of opportunities for new markets.  This is like selling to somebody next door, as opposed to halfway around the planet.  For us, it makes a lot of sense.” (Associated Press, 12/11/02)

 

Under current U.S. law, Cuba must pay for any purchases of U.S. food products up front in cash.  Stallman made it clear that the AFBF does not support these sales restrictions, saying, “We believe that private entities should have the opportunity to provide financing if they so choose.” (“U.S. farmers press for financing for food shipments to Cuba,” The Associated Press, 11/23/02)

 

The delegation met with Cuban President Fidel Castro and he told them that he would like to eventually purchase up to 80% of Cuba’s food from the U.S.  Winkles noted, “He also told us that future plans there call for importing any agricultural goods that they cannot produce cheaper than they can buy it from foreign suppliers,” which could further increase the opportunity for American farmers. (“SC Farm Bureau leader back from Cuba mission,” Orangeburg Times & Democrat 12/1/02)  Indeed, the trip helped in the negotiation of a deal to sell $200 million worth of products to Cuba by the spring.  Oklahoma FB president Kouplan was encouraged by Cuba’s interest in purchasing U.S. ag products, noting, “They’re pretty well in the market for anything they can buy.” (The Oklahoman, 12/28/02)

 

November 2002 Black Farmers Trip

In November, members of the National Black Farmers Association and the NAACP traveled to Cuba to promote agricultural sales from black farmers in the U.S. to Cuba.  The trip led to a commitment by Cuba to make substantial purchases from black farmers and farm groups over the next year, and members of the delegation were pleased with the outcome.  “This is a very good deal.  This will be good for Black farmers and it will be good for Cubans.  We’re looking forward to the challenge and we’re thrilled about it,” commented Ralph Page, head of the Southern Federation of Black Farmers.  NAACP President/CEO Kwiesi Mfume remarked, “African American farmers want to aggressively pursue business opportunities in Cuba, the same as major farm cooperatives and agribusinesses corporations that have traveled to Cuba and sold hundreds of millions of dollars of food to Cuba in the past two years.” 

 

December 2002 Kansas Delegation

Kansas Farm Bureau president Steve Baccus and the KS Lieutenant governor were part of an 11-member delegation to Cuba in December.  Like Stallman, Baccus expressed his support for the end to financing restrictions on ag sales, saying, “A good number of Americans and influential members of Congress agree that it is time to reform U.S. policy with Cuba.  The best way to start is through trade. Among the first items to reform should be the current restriction on financing of U.S. food and agricultural exports to Cuba.”  Baccus also noted the importance of Cuba trade for Kansas farmers.  He said, “Opening new international markets for Kansas-produced commodities is vital for the long-term success of our farmers and ranchers.  Enhanced trade with a nation 90 miles off our shores makes more sense than ever before.”

 

September 2002 U.S. Food and Agribusiness Exhibition in Cuba

In September, over 288 exhibitors, including farmers, agribusiness companies, trade organizations and state departments of agriculture from thirty-three states, the District of Colombia and Puerto Rico traveled to Havana, Cuba to take part in the U.S. Food and Agribusiness Exhibition. (Final report from PWN Exhibicon International LLC)  It was an historic event because it was the first such U.S. trade show in Cuba in over forty years.  The fair was the most visible sign yet of growing U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba.  The agreement on the first sale of U.S. food to Cuba in over forty years was made in November 2001, after the passage of the Trade Sanctions Reform Act (TSRA) in 2000.  The Act legalized sales of food and medicine to Cuba with the caveat that all purchases must be paid for up front in cash.  Since then, up until the trade show, Cuba had purchased $120 million worth of U.S. food products.  At the exhibition, Cuba signed contracts to buy approximately $92 million more of foodstuffs.  According to the New York Times, Cuba is expected to be ranked 45th among 228 countries that bought food and agricultural products from the U.S. in 2002.  In 2000 Cuba ranked last. ("U.S. Agribusiness Peddles to the Proletariat in Cuba," September 27, 2002)

 

Exhibitors at the event represented constituents from at least 104 U.S. congressional districts and the home states of sixty-six senators.  While the participants took no official position opposing the U.S. embargo, the sheer number of exhibitors and the level of interest in the event were a striking display of the desire of the agriculture community for unfettered access to the Cuban market.  The interest of this community in selling its products to Cuba is impossible for Members of Congress to ignore, and has helped convince Members from farm states to support changes to U.S.-Cuba policy. 

 

While 2002 saw a great increase in agricultural sales to Cuba, and 2003 will see more farm group trips to Cuba and continued U.S. ag sales to the island, trade with Cuba continues to be stifled by the embargo.  The embargo makes sales, and travel to arrange sales, a bureaucratic and difficult process.  Ask the U.S. Congress to remove restrictions on ag sales and travel to Cuba this year.