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(Havana) A 10-member delegation led by Gov. Dave Heineman secured current and future trade with Cuba today when Cuban officials signed a memorandum of understanding to purchase $17 million in Nebraska agricultural products over the next 18 months.
“I am very pleased for Nebraska producers that we were able to provide this opportunity for outreach into a new and now unquestionably important market,” Gov. Heineman said. “This is a proud moment for Nebraska agriculture.”
The memorandum indicates Cuba’s desire to negotiate deals with Nebraska companies for a range of commodities in significant quantities, including soybeans, corn, wheat, pork, beef products, ingredients for livestock feed, cattle, and other agricultural products.
Alimport, the Cuban import authority, expressed in the memorandum its hopes to purchase 25,000 metric tons of Nebraska corn, 25,000 metric tons of Nebraska wheat and 15,000 metric tons of Nebraska soybeans or soy meal, among others.
Nebraskans and Cubans signed contracts during the ceremony that will result in the return of Nebraska-grown Great Northern Beans to Cuba as part of the first private sales agreements to be brokered under the new memorandum. Nebraska companies sold 5,000 metric tons of the beans to Cuba. The state last traded beans here before the embargo.
Terms of the private business deal were not disclosed, but delegation members Charlie Witmer of Stateline Bean Producers Co-op, Brett Morrison of Nebraska Bean Inc., and Bryce Kelley of Kelley Bean Corp., said their producers would be pleased.
Nebraska Director of Agriculture Greg Ibach, who organized the trip for Gov. Heineman and the Cornhusker State delegation, described the trip as a success, crediting negotiations between the Governor and Alimport Chairman Pedro Alvarez.
Ibach said, “The Governor said he would not join our trade mission to Cuba unless he could be of genuine service to our farmers and ranchers, and I can say without hesitation that his attendance and assistance helped secure these agreements.”
In order to secure the memorandum, the initial bean deals and a stronger commitment from Cuba to purchase Nebraska corn and wheat, the Governor agreed to return with other Nebraska producers in November, during an international trade show in Havana.
Keith Olsen, President of the Nebraska Farm Bureau, said, “We are excited to see an agreement reached, and we believe it will lead to more the same. This is a culmination of something that took time.”
The current U.S. trade embargo with Cuba has allowed the trade of agricultural products and medical supplies since 2000. Cuba has purchased more than $1 billion in U.S. agricultural products in the wake of eased restrictions.
“As I’ve said before, this trip had nothing to do with international politics and everything to do with doing what’s right for Nebraska agriculture,” Gov. Heineman said. “We said it would be about trade, and we have reached agreement.”
Joining the Governor in Cuba are Ibach and Stan Garbacz from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Mark Jagels of the Nebraska Corn Board, David Hilferty of the Nebraska Wheat Board, Chuck Hibberd of the University of Nebraska’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center, as well as Olsen, Witmer, Morrison and Kelley.
The delegation returns to Nebraska from Havana on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
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