WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, 2015 - There’s no
sign that congressional Republicans are anywhere close to agreeing to end the
embargo on Cuba. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is telling the Cuban
government that it should start doing the work necessary to get U.S. approval
to import Cuban products, including conducting detailed risk analyses of
potential pests and diseases.
Vilsack said he delivered that message
to Cuban officials during his trip to Cuba last week with a group of U.S.
lawmakers.
“That’s something we obviously require
of every country and (trading) partner that we have. It takes a while, so we’re
encouraging the Cubans to get started on that process now, so as Congress
begins the process over time of considering what to do with the embargo, Cuba
will be in a position … to more quickly export product into the U.S.,” Vilsack
told reporters.
One area Cuban farmers could possibly
find a U.S. market for: organic food. Cuban farmers have turned to organic farming
methods out of necessity – they lack the synthetic chemicals used in the
developed world – but in order to sell into the U.S. market they would have to
prove that they could meet USDA’s organic standards, Vilsack said.
With a view to ramping up trade,
Vilsack also wants to see USDA open a presence in Havana with representatives
from the Foreign Agricultural Service and the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service. He gave no time frame for doing so, however, indicating
that there are space constraints at the embassy as well as a questions about
the funding.
Cuban officials pressed the U.S.
delegation to ease the government’s restrictions on their purchases of U.S.
food to make it easier to buy on credit. “There is the hope on the part of the
Cubans that some of this could be done by executive fiat,” Vilsack said. “But the
reality is that many of the restrictions that they are concerned about are the
result of the (embargo) legislation.”
Exports of food and agricultural
products to Cuba are down 38 percent so far this year, despite an increase in
September over the same month in 2014, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council.
Through September, Cuban imports this year totaled $146.7 million, compared to
$291 million for all of 2014. Frozen chicken accounted for $63 million in Cuban
imports through September, followed by soybean oil cake at $39 million.
The commodities likely to be most in
demand if the embargo is lifted include corn, rice, soybeans, wheat, pork and
poultry, according to Vilsack.
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