* The III Cuba-US agricultural conference has begun in Cuba’s capital Havana, organised by the US Agricultural Coalition for Cuba, (USACC), a US lobby group which includes over 100 national and state farm organisations, corporations and producers, and Grupo Agrícola, an organisation linked to Cuba’s agriculture ministry. The conference, which is taking place from 6-8 April, seeks to deepen US-Cuba agricultural relations and boost trade. USACC representatives told newswire
Reuters that US embargo restrictions, despite some exceptions for agricultural products (the US created a loophole in 2000 to allow for food sales), still complicate efforts to ship food that “
might otherwise prove a lifeline for Cubans”. USACC chair
Paul Johnson told the newswire that “
we’re hamstrung because of this embargo”. According to USACC the US is the largest food exporter to Cuba although the market share is less than 15%. In 2021 food exports from the US to Cuba reached nearly US$300m, up 88% since 2020 and the highest figure since 2014.
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