• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 10 / 11 / 2010

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TUSCALOOSA | Trade between Alabama and Cuba is an important part of the state’s agriculture industry, with an economic impact of $300 million to $400 million, State Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries Ron Sparks said Sunday.

Alabama started trading with Cuba in 2003. When Sparks initiated trade with the country after an embargo was loosened by the federal government in 2000. With Cuba only 600 nautical miles from Mobile, trade with the country makes financial sense, Sparks said.

“The opportunities in Cuba are many,” said Sparks, also the Democratic candidate for governor. “In my mind, there were three words: jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Poultry, soybeans and wood products including telephone poles are some of the top products Alabama sells to Cuba. About 90 percent of the wood exported to Cuba comes from Alabama, Sparks said. More than half of the poultry the country imports also comes from Alabama.

“My position has always been clear: If we are going to do business with China and going to do business with Vietnam, then why not Cuba?” Sparks said.

When Alabama began sending goods to Cuba, it was 223rd as a trade partner with the country, Sparks said. Today, the state ranks 22nd.

Sparks was the keynote speaker to kick off the University of Alabama’s Cuba Week, which will feature more than two dozen panel presentations by UA faculty and their Cuban counterparts in higher education. Topics for this year’s event include early history of Cuba, Cuban arts and the biodiversity of Cuba.

Learning more about the country is an integral step to more trade and open relations with the country, and initiatives like UA’s Cuba Week also help open doors wider, Sparks said.

But, the U.S. government needs to do away with the embargo that has prevented most travel and trade since 1963, he said.

“The embargo hurts Cubans,” Sparks said. “I’m a firm believer that if we continue to talk and work together, only good things will come about. It’s the closed doors and no communication that causes the problem.”

Cuban Jose Ameneiros, visiting the U.S. as part of UA’s Cuba week, said he agreed with Sparks about the importance of trade, but said there is a battle ahead to opening trade and lifting the “blockade” between the U.S. and Cuba.

“Because of what the state of Alabama has done, it represents an immeasurable step forward after the compete closure of 48 years,” Ameneiros said.

Sparks said that, if elected governor on Nov. 2, he would like to see increased trade not only between Alabama and Cuba, but with other countries as well. He hopes the candidate who replaces him as agriculture commissioner continues to expand trade with Cuba.

“One thing I’ve learned is ... that 48 years is enough,” Sparks said. “It’s time to move on and build a relationship that would be positive for Alabama and the United States of America. If we don’t, it will be one of the biggest mistakes because of the endless opportunities (with Cuba.)”

For more information on UA’s Cuba Week, go to www.cubaweek.ua.edu.

By Lydia Seabol Avant Staff Writer

Published: Monday, October 11, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 11:09 p.m.

Reach Lydia Seabol Avant at 205-722-0222 or [email protected].