• Submitted by: manso
• International
• 05 / 27 / 2011

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During a three-day visit to Havana, Mexican Agriculture Minister Francisco Mayorga Castañeda signed a series of agreements, under which Mexico and Cuba will increase cooperation on agricultural machinery, bio-fertilizer and pest control research as well as veterinary training.

In an apparent first for a foreign government, Mexico will also assist Cuba in the implementation of market mechanisms in food distribution, Mayorga said, according to Mexican daily La Jornada. The Mexican assistance, amid renewed discussions over a breakup of state monopoly Acopio, is the first instance of foreign participation in food distribution. Companies from Brazil, Venezuela, China, Angola and Vietnam have set up joint ventures in food production only.

According to Mayorga, Cuban experts will tour wholesale food markets in Mexico and study the country’s national grains and oil seed distribution mechanisms.

The agreements seek to contribute to food security in Cuba, which is trying to stimulate private food production on 8 million hectares of fallow state land, while decentralizing decision-making and applying new technologies, said Cuban Agriculture Minister Gustavo Rodríguez Rollero Rodríguez. Cuba is importing more than 60 percent of its food.

Mayorga, according to La Jornada, said he was optimistic about Cuba’s future as a food producer, thanks to “its profound educational capacity,” although the country needs “much more investment in technology, seeds and equipment, market mechanisms, and incentives for producers.”

Assistance with food distribution: Mayorga, Rodríguez

Mayorga was accompanied by a 24-member delegation of Mexican businesspeople seeking sales of kidney beans, soybeans and soybean oil, cold meats, wheat flour, coffee, potatoes, grease and vegetable oil, and powdered milk.

Mexican officials, in turn, discussed possible purchases of bio-fertilizers, bio-insecticides and other products from Cuba.

According to a Mexican official speaking at the “Agro-food opportunities Mexico-Cuba” workshop in Havana during the visit, Mexico exported $57.3 million worth of food and agricultural products to Cuba in 2010, while Cuba sold $13.7 million worth of similar goods to Mexico. Mexico has been selling a wide range of mostly processed food, but almost no commodity-type goods.

Source: www.cubastandard.com/2011/05/26/mexico-to-provide-ag-know-how/