Cuba, trade and culture
by Pat Petzel Cuba is a country that has in the span of 40 years gone from Beverly Hills to a ghost town where mansion after mansion is a crumbling reminder of a city where wealth and extravagance once ruled. To be sure, the Cuban people are full of life, hard working, open and friendly despite their country’s economic troubles. To the Cuban people, the crumbling facades of the old mansions are reminders of the "The Triumph of the Revolution" in which the wealth of a select few became the foundation of a socialist society. A crumbling mansion can tell a very different story depending on the individual’s perspective. Caption: Ron Overmyer checks out one of Cuba’s 400,000 oxen pairs. Oxen numbers have more than doubled since the Soviet Union stopped selling oil and tractors to Cuba. This was a typical observation for a group of Ohio Farm Bureau members who participated in a study tour of Cuba in March. The official purpose of the trip was to learn about new agricultural trade opportunities with Cuba, but the lesson many came home with is that when it comes to learning about how people live and think, culture rules. A crack in the door U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba in 2002 totaled about $250 million. Worldwide, Cuba imports $1 billion per year worth of farm products and will import $1.5 billion by 2005, according to officials with Alimport, the Cuban state enterprise responsible for the importation of most commodities. Alimport expects the United States to account for about 60 percent of that total, even if current restrictions remain in place. The sudden interest in U.S. agricultural products, like all issues between the United States and Cuba, is an interesting mix of rhetoric, economics and political maneuvering. In a strange mix of political allies, the Cuban government needs a lobby strong enough in the United States to counter the influence of the Cuban-American lobby in Miami. U.S. Agriculture, conversely, is always on the lookout for new markets and new mouths to feed. The common goal between the Cuban government and agriculture groups such as Farm Bureau is to bring an end to the embargo. A need to reform Importing food from the United States accomplishes two things for the Cuban government: it brings much needed food products into the country and it creates more political momentum in the United States to end the embargo and travel ban. "Farmers have the best of all circumstances," said Dan Sainz, political/economic chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. "The Cuban government is hell-bent on buying as much as possible from U.S. farmers. It’s been a very skillful charm offensive aimed at U.S. farmers." Sainz said that Cuba has purchased farm products from powerful congressional districts: apples from Washington, corn from Iowa and rice from Texas – and must pay for the purchases in cash. "Farmers should take advantage of the deal," Sainz said, "But don’t be confused into thinking this is a great long-term market." A common observation from the tour group was that trying to make sense of the situation is confusing and daunting. Forty years’ worth of antagonistic government relations and a communist bureaucracy can do that. On one hand, experts like Sainz advise that Cuban agriculture purchases are purely politically motivated subject to the whims of the Castro regime; on the other hand, Cuban trade officials know that no other country can compete with U.S. food and farm products in price and quality. Shipping powdered milk from New Zealand or rice from Vietnam is expensive and makes transportation a large part of a product’s cost. Current estimates are that transportation charges to Cuba from other countries are running 30 to 35 percent of product costs – this is one of the reasons why Cuba wants to purchase so badly from the United States, according to Alimport. Seeking out the truth was always a matter of considering the political perspective of the person speaking. The group was always mindful that the entire tour agenda and speakers were approved and arranged by the Cuban government. The group’s consensus was that people seemed content, friendly, open to answering questions and satisfied with their lot in life. However, during the group’s visit several political dissidents were jailed for their "subversive" activities. In a land of warm tropical breezes and swaying palm trees, the "charm offensive" can work its magic, but then one is reminded that Cuba is not yet a land where freedom reigns. A telling statistic: Each year the United States has a lottery where Cuban citizens may apply for one of 15,000 permanent visas. For the most recent lottery, 580,000 Cuban families applied for a permanent visa to live in the United States.
Captions: Once ornate, prerevolution buildings like this one in downtonw Havana now provide shelter to address Cuba's housing shortage.
Ohio Farm Bureau and Columbus Council on World Affiars members visited Cuba to learn about new agricultural trade opportunities with that country. Ohio Farm Bureau Cuba at the Crossroads participants: One of the goals of the trip was to provide a core group of Farm Bureau leaders with a perspective on international trade issues. Tour participants are available for speaking engagements for local community groups. A complete summary of the week-long study tour will be available at www.ofbf.org after April 18. For more information contact Pat Petzel at 614-246-8242 or at ppetzel@ofbf.org Pat Petzel is OFBF director of Promotion and Education. | |||
