Cuba ratifies its political will and its economic and commercial will to continue expanding trade with US agricultural producers
A recognition of the Cuban people and Government to the American farmers, for the effort they have made within the US society to normalize relations with Cuba, was made by the President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz- Canel Bermúdez, to participants in the III Cuba-United States Agricultural Business Conference, which will be held in Havana from Tuesday until tomorrow.
The Head of State met with a representation of the producers of the agri-food sector this Wednesday afternoon, at the Palace of the Revolution, to whom he expressed that, based on the history of cooperation, trade, understanding and joint work in the last twenty years, Cuba ratifies its political will and its economic and commercial will to continue expanding this type of exchange.
We also aspire — the president would point out at the end of his words — that one day we can regularize this trade in a better way and also be able to access credits and send Cuban products to the United States.
In the introduction to the meeting, where he addressed issues of the national reality, among others, Díaz-Canel thanked these producers and businessmen for their visit to Cuba at such complex times for the world and also for our country. For us —he underscored— your visit is very significant.
First, because the delegation is made up of the most prestigious, most important institutions in the US agricultural sector, and second, because it is a bipartisan composition; In other words, we can highlight that, in the relationship with Cuba, in the relationship between the peoples of Cuba and the United States, all the diversity of approaches that may be in the US society is present.
But the most important thing about this meeting —said the Cuban President— is that "the US agricultural sector has always been a sector at the forefront of understanding and fostering of relations between the American and the Cuban people."
«Once again I want to ratify that Cuba has no problem with the people of the United States; we recognize the people of the United States as a neighbor, we recognize their culture, their history”, the President commented, recalling the exchanges that both peoples have had in other sectors, in addition to agriculture, such as science, education, and culture.
«Whenever there is a meeting of this type, one sees all the potentialities, all the possibilities that there are to understand each other and to forge together; and these are the bridges that we have to continue forging and building.” "Of course," he underlined later, "we do have a difference that you are aware of, and it is with the United States government, because of its aggressive policy toward our country."
When pondering the work of US farmers in favor of relations between the two peoples and the leadership they have had in this regard, Díaz-Canel emphasized that all of this has gone through a history, and recalled the active participation they had, in the year 2000 , to promote a debate in the United States so that it would be recognized that there were possibilities of authorizing some sales of medicines and agricultural products to Cuba.
That effort —he recalled— resulted in a law with a fairly comprehensive approach, but unfortunately the political lobby of the extreme right in Miami, anti-Cuban, limited all those possibilities, and only one-way exchanges were authorized —only you can sell us—, we have to pay in cash and we have to do it in advance, when we could have had a normal, two-way trade system, with exchanges of Cuban and US products, and with the use of credits, as is done in all trade relations anywhere in the world .
"Despite this," the Head of State said, "I want to emphasize that this type of relationship with you has been very satisfactory for us; the products that we have been able to buy are of quality, their prices are more favorable, freight costs are more favorable, and it also gives us the possibility, in emergencies such as a cyclone or other eventuality, of quickly going to a product that we have closer, with all those advantages». "And because of its proximity -he continued arguing- the replenishment cycles are also shorter".
"The US food market," Diaz-Canel said, "is very satisfactory for us, and hopefully we can continue working to expand it. Some, he added, might say that Cuba is not such a beneficial market, because we are a small island, but we are a small island that buys food for more than eleven million people, we do not buy food for a few people or in small quantities , when we buy, we do it for our entire population, and eleven million people is not such a small market».
The meeting of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party with the representatives of the US agricultural sector was attended by the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.
The deputy prime ministers Alejandro Gil Fernández and Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, and the heads of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, and Agriculture, Ydael Pérez Brito, as well as other directors, also attended.
THE CUBAN AND AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE UNITED
In the exchange between Díaz-Canel and the US farmers, Paul Johnson, president of the US-Cuba Agricultural Coalition, which since 2015 has developed an intense agenda in favor of bilateral relations in the sector, emphasized that the links between the two countries are very strong.
We have historical ties in the cultural, logistical, family and agricultural. They are ties that unite us as countries and that has to be the basis for improving relations in the future, and not only to export our merchandise here, but also to work with Cuban producers and help them increase their production and export merchandise there. Things will not be easy in the future, but —he said— we share common goals that should allow us to move in that direction.
We want to contribute —Johnson added— to the development of the great talent that exists in Cuba, and we have come to help improve our relations and also to put an end to this embargo, so we have a lot of work to do. The blockade/embargo, he added, has been around for more than 60 years and it hasn't worked; and it is time to find new strategies to solve the problems and our presence here is aimed at helping in that.
Ray D'Alessio, a reporter for the Georgia Farm Monitor, asked the Head of State about the concept they have, about what Cubans think of American farmers, to which Díaz-Canel replied that Cuban farmers, both state and private, have a very high rating for their US colleagues, for their technological and productive development, for the quality of their products, for the good practices they apply.
In fact, he told them, there are many of our peasants who communicate with you through the Internet to talk and learn about everything related to agricultural production. Our farmers —He summarized— have a high appreciation of you, they aspire to have your development, they see you as a reference.
For us —the president pointed out later— the natural market, the one that could favor us the most in the food sector, is the United States. We're only 90 miles away. Of you we favor the cost, the quality, the freight, the replenishment, the rapid response in an emergency. But that is an opportunity that neither of the two parties is taking advantage of to its maximum potential due to the blockade.
Robert M. Tobiassen, president of the US National Association of Beverages Importers, said the industry he represents, by its very nature, has a different view than farmers. This is my first visit to Cuba and "I have been impressed by the hospitality of the Cubans, and I thank you and your people," he told Díaz-Canel.
Tobiassen pointed out that the quality of its spirits is a heritage shared by Cuba and the United States, and in everything, culture counts, he stated.
Alcoholic beverages have their unique history, he added, pondering the importance that different sectors of both countries strengthen their branch relations and build coalitions, as the best way to advance bilateral relations.
Among other interventions, James Summer, President of the United States Poultry and Eggs Producers Export Council, explained that he has been coming to the Island for 21 years, and recalled the strong ties they maintain here, to the point that —he reported— Cuba is the third largest export market for chicken meat producers in your country, after Mexico and China.
Today, he added, we held a meeting with representatives of the poultry sector, and we extended our hand to help increase chicken and eggs production in Cuba, a sector that is becoming very difficult to maintain, not only here, but also in my country. country, due to shortages, rising costs, problems with the workforce, new diseases, are concerns that we share, as well as the search for successful solutions for our productions, he pointed out, to which the President expressed his willingness of Cuba to cooperate in all that is possible to provide answers to these mutual challenges.
The meeting concluded with the words of Kansas farmer Douglas Kessling, a wheat producer who presented a symbolic case with the grain he harvests to the President of the Republic.
“Like the Cubans,” Kessling pointed out, “we American farmers are also very proud and we want to work with Cuban farmers and strive to have trade in both directions.”