Four U.S. Companies Sign Farm Deal with Cuba
 
November 30, 2001
 

Archer Daniels Midland, Con Agra, Cargill and Riceland recently signed agreements for the sale of agricultural goods to Cuba. The multi-million dollar agreements cover the sale of wheat, corn, soy, soybean meal and rice to the island. These are the first Cuban sales to be made under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-387), which, for the first time since 1962, permits U.S. companies to sell food and agricultural goods to Cuba. That Act specifically bans private and government financing of the sales. However, a proposal in the Senate farm bill (S. 1628), which would remove the ban on private financing has cleared the Senate Agriculture Committee. The recent agreements, and the prospect of awards to Gold Kist, Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms for poultry exports to the island, could provide the necessary impetus to ensure the bill’s passage.