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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 22, 2001

Cuba Signs Trade Accords with U.S. Firms

Cuba has signed trade accords with four United States agricultural businesses as part of a special scheme for Havana to cope with the effects of Hurricane Michelle, a business source said on Wednesday.


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Cuba has signed trade accords with four United States agricultural businesses as part of a special scheme for Havana to cope with the effects of Hurricane Michelle, a business source said on Wednesday.

The four agribusinesses have become the first U.S. firms in four decades to sign trade accords with Cuba.

The representatives of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), Cargill, Riceland Foods and ConAgra were in Havana on Tuesday to sign the agreements with the Cuban state company, Alimport.

The deals came after Cuba appealed the United States to speed up authorization so it could buy food and medicines from the United States.

According to the accords, the four U.S. agribusinesses will provide Cuba with wheat, corn, soy and rice, worth 20 million U.S. dollars.

The agreements are still pending and have to be approved by the U.S. Commerce Department.

Hurricane Michelle struck central Cuba on November 4, killing five people, flattening thousands of houses, and severely damaging crops earmarked for both export and local needs.

Cuba has been subject to a U.S. embargo since President Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. At present the two countries have no diplomatic relations.




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