Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company
The New
York Times
September 27, 2002, Friday, Late Edition -
Final
SECTION: Section A; Page 6; Column
1; Foreign Desk
LENGTH: 1045 words
HEADLINE: U.S. Agribusiness Peddles To the Proletariat
in
Cuba BYLINE: By LIZETTE
ALVAREZ
DATELINE: HAVANA, Sept. 26
BODY: Capitalism and Communism rubbed shoulders
today inside a rambling exhibition hall in a suburb of Havana, where Fidel
Castro and nearly 300 American companies set aside four decades of estrangement
to kick off the largest American trade show ever on this impoverished island.
As Mr. Castro meandered through the hall, sipping red wine from
California, feeding baby bison from the Midwest and chatting with vendors,
American companies hawked everything from M&M's and Sara Lee cake to soy
burgers in hope of bringing home new business. At the very least, these farmers
and agribusiness giants -- a powerful bloc that has chipped away at a 40-year
embargo and persuaded Congress to funnel billions of dollars to the industry --
hope for a public relations victory by showing that one can trade with
Cuba, a nearby market with 11 million people to feed.
The scene in the exhibition hall seemed strangely dissonant. Men dressed
like M&M's and cans of Spam drifted past workers who noshed, happily and
greedily, on the snacks and drinks offered at the booths. There were boxes of
corn flakes, tubs of chocolate ice cream, slices of creamy cake, sausages,
cheese, bacon and thick roast beef, all of it a feast to Cuban eyes.
"It
is all very, very good," chuckled Benito Barzaga, a worker at the exhibition, a
glass of free wine in his hand. "Especially the meat. Sheesh."
He was
among the few Cubans allowed to see the show, to which access was restricted to
selected officials from industries like the hotel trade that might buy the
products.
The show was authorized by the United States government under
a two-year-old law that permits American companies to export food and
agricultural products to
Cuba so long as the sales are made in
cash. Sales from the United States to
Cuba are still miniscule,
but last year they jumped substantially, and this year
Cuba is
expected to make $135 million in purchases. President Bush opposes lifting the
trade embargo before Mr. Castro embraces democracy, and members of his
administration have criticized the show.
To underscore the importance of
the event, Mr. Castro dropped his usual antipathy toward the United States,
donned a navy blue, pin-striped suit and attended the show.
"We simply
want to have fair trade, a fair exchange that bears in mind the interests of
both parties," Mr. Castro said in a rambling, impromptu speech at an afternoon
news conference. "There is only one good basis for lasting, serious trade --
that both parties benefit."
Gesticulating forcefully with his index
finger, Mr. Castro explained that trade was not always about profit, something
that might come as a surprise to the vendors in the hall. Instead, he remarked,
it is sometimes about building relationships and furthering particular
interests.
Mr. Castro lauded "heroic Cuban chickens" who work hard to
produce eggs under difficult circumstances. Cuban officials had just signed with
Radloe Foods LLC to import 30 million eggs for $1.5 million.
For the
Americans in the hall, including a smattering of politicians, the day was as
much symbolic as pragmatic. "I never dreamed in my lifetime that I would stand
here in the great country of
Cuba, and I never dreamed I would
see our two flags standing side by side," said Governor Jesse Ventura of
Minnesota. "I look forward to this being just the first step in trade relations
between the two countries."
Farm state lawmakers and powerful
agribusiness executives, including G. Allen Andreas, chief executive of Archer
Daniels Midland, who helped inaugurate the show, have pushed hard to ease trade
restrictions, arguing that farmers and corporations need access to more markets.
In 1990, they succeeded in persuading Congress to permit the sale of
food and agricultural products to
Cuba, despite the opposition
of Cuban-Americans and influential Republicans, who argued that the money only
helped prop up Mr. Castro. But opponents won a major concession: the sales must
be in cash to protect the United States from
Cuba's bad credit
rating and its tendency to default on loans to other countries.
At
first, Mr. Castro opposed the law, saying it was too restrictive. Last year,
after a devastating hurricane and a precipitous drop in tourism, he changed his
mind. Food and grain trickled into
Cuba. In 2000,
Cuba rated last among the 228 countries that buy food and
agricultural products from the United States. By the end of this year,
Cuba is expected to make $165 million in purchases, jumping to
45th place.
The show alone is expected to reap $30 million for farmers
and agribusiness executives, who are here to sign contracts with Alimport, the
Cuban government agency in charge of imports. That food will be distributed to
hotels, restaurants, schools, hospitals and the military.
"I hope people
take home the message that the Cuban market is a fertile area for American
companies to do business," said Peter W. Nathan, president of PWN Exhibicon
International, which organized the event.
As he petted a bull, Mr.
Castro talked to a cattle rancher from Minnesota about how much milk his cows
produce and how much feed they require. The Cuban leader, he said, came away
impressed. "We could easily increase milk production in
Cuba 15
to 20 percent," said Ralph Kaehler, of Kaehler's Homedale Farm Enterprises.
Later Mr. Castro, ringed by security, ambled past stacks of mustard and
grape juice and peas, as he shook hands, sampled wine and ate cheese. In his
speech later on, he talked about the cornucopia of American products and said
Cubans are more than willing to pay premium prices for them because they come
from across the Florida Straits. "It's a psychological factor," he said.
The trade show did not roll into
Cuba without
controversy.
Otto J. Reich, the assistant secretary of state for Western
Hemisphere affairs, recently expressed his disappointment with the event, and
cautioned Mr. Ventura and others traveling to
Cuba to steer
clear of the island's "sexual tourism."
Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida wrote a
personal letter to Mr. Ventura, asking him not to go to
Cuba.
But Mr. Ventura said the United States is "not a dictatorship," and he is free
to travel to
Cuba to help boost business for Minnesota
companies.
http://www.nytimes.com
GRAPHIC:
Photo: President Fidel Castro of
Cuba offered milk to a bison
yesterday at a food trade show in Havana, featuring nearly 300 American
companies. (Getty Images)
LOAD-DATE: September 27, 2002