Chronicle on Cuba - June 2004

Economy

June 1: In Camagüey, with the largest cattle herd in Cuba, thousands of animals remain vulnerable to the intense drought affecting the east of the island, while others are receiving water from water tankers. According to the local press, the water shortage has caused the animals to lose, on average, 55kg of weight. Water levels in the wells have dropped between 4 and 5 meters, and only 687.000 m3 can be pumped from the 2.6 million m3 Cubano Búlgara dam, Camagüey City's main water source . Up until last April, some 20,000 heads of cattle had died due to the water shortage. (AFP, 1/6/04)

June 2: One of the world's largest deep-water drilling rigs has arrived off Cuba's northwest coast and is preparing to drill the first well in Cuba's virgin Gulf of Mexico waters, oil industry officials said. Spanish oil major Repsol YPF (REP.MC) hired the Eirik Raude, owned by Norwegian company Ocean Rig (OCR.OL), for $195,000 a day to drill a single well 18 miles offshore in water more than a mile deep. A Repsol official said the rig was at the drill site. "The rig has arrived and will be ready to go in the next couple of days," said Bob Warrack, Ocean Rig senior vice president of marketing. "And I hope they strike oil, because it will be fascinating to see the reaction." Oil experts say Cuba's Gulf waters, like those of Mexico and the United States, could harbor large quantities of medium-grade crude. (Reuters, 2/6/04)

June 4: Cuba's latest sugar harvest came in at about 2.75 million tons, larger than last year but still tiny and less than officials had projected, the communist government announced. The Communist Party daily Granma quoted Vice President Carlos Lage as saying that the 2003-2004 harvest that ended this spring, was 2.9 percent smaller than previously forecast. The 2002-2003 harvest was about 2.4 million tons, according to government figures announced in late December. The previous two harvests were around 3.9 million tons. Lage blamed a drought in the island's east for the production of less sugar than hoped. But he said this year was more efficient than some others, with a drop in production costs and increased shipping speed. Cuba's sugar industry has been undergoing a major restructuring over the past several years as officials struggle to improve production and make a once-crucial industry more relevant. (AP, 4/6/04)

June 6: Cuba is protecting its marine ecosystems from erosion and pollution, and is taking action around the island to preserve forests, beaches and bays. Cuba celebrated World Environment Day with events centered in westernmost Pinar del Rio province, chosen especially in recognition of its attention to biological diversity. Pinar del Rio has the country's largest forest preserve and one-fifth of its territory is given over to more than 30 protected areas. (EFE, 6/6/04)

June 7: Some 300 rum producers, distributors, retailers and experts from 15 countries are attending the 1st International Rum Festival taking place in Havana. The fact that Cuba has a good reputation in the rum production and the launching of eight new rum brands in the international market, encouraged some 30 foreign companies to send representatives to the event, first of its type organized in Cuba. The festival -with its main venue at the Morro-Cabaña Historical Park- includes a trade fair, lectures, cocktail competitions, rum tasting and visits to factories and sugar cane plantations. (Prensa Latina, 7/6/04)

June 8: The Ribeirao Preto dental equipment supplier Dabi Atlante (Sao Paulo state) has signed a contract for the export of 1,700 equipment to the government of Cuba (US$3.5mil) targeted at the new public health program. These exports involve 500 autoclaves, 500 x-rays equipment, 500 photopolymerizers ultralux, 2,000 amalgamators and maintenance kits. Dabi Atlante's professionals will undertake a training program to 30 Cuban engineers soon. (Gazeta Mercantil, 9/6/04)

June 9: Mother Nature has not been kind to Cuba lately, with a drought already over a year old, an unusual June heat wave and several severe local storms, including a tornado. Although Santiago de Cuba’s tornado did not produce any deaths, it caused a great deal of material damage. Cuban tornados are not frequent. (Prensa Latina, 9/6/04)

June 11: Heavy rain which usually falls in May finally arrived in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba to the relief of local farmers and residents alike, although the drought that has ravaged crops and cattle herds remains critical. As the entire island enters the cyclone season meteorologists predict more rain to come, although this will not exceed the monthly average for June. Thus far the rainfall in the east of the island is at 70% of normal levels forcing water rationing measures in most towns and cities. (Radio Habana Cuba, 12/6/04)

June 11: A Cuban-Namibian joint venture is bringing the loose-fitting guayabera shirt, worn by men in Cuba and much of the rest of the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, to the African market. The binational textile factory is one of five joint ventures set up by Cuba in Africa, and the first company on that continent to produce guayaberas, a traditional garment that emerged in the Cuban countryside in the 18th century. (IPS, 11/6/04)

June 13: Cayo Largo, a pristine island of Cuba's southern coast has what you might expect: 17 miles of unspoiled beaches, eight hotels and a cozy marina. What's surprising is what Cayo Largo doesn't have - namely, native Cubans. Not a single Cuban lives on the island full time. Cubans work here in 20-day shifts, serving the thousands of foreign tourists who visit every month, then returning to their hometowns for 10 days. Hugo Senecal, 30, a businessman from Holland, said he is astonished by the place because it seems almost devoid of Cubans. "You never see them on the beach," he said. "It's not like Havana where Cubans tend to stick to you until they get some money out of you. Here we don't see Cubans at all." (The Dallas Morning News, 13/6/04)

June 14: Intense drought afflicting eastern Cuba for months has dried up one of the reservoirs that supplies the city of Holguin, leaving its 70,000 residents without drinking water, the local press reported. According to the weekly Trabajadores, the critical situation has forced authorities to enlist a fleet of 85 tanker trucks to deliver water. (EFE, 14/6/04)

June 15: Cuban authorities are looking for foreign partners to help fund projects such as building an alcohol distillery and producing lollipops to further develop the island's sugar industry. The government distributed a pamphlet of 26 such initiatives to delegates at the International Congress of Sugar and Sugarcane Derivatives. "We are looking for financing, technology and/or markets," Manuel Alonso Padilla, a Cuban sugar ministry official, told reporters at the event. "We will provide the infrastructure, top-notch labor, and engineering." Dozens of business representatives from Europe, Mexico, Brazil and Australia will discuss the proposed projects, some of them costing millions of dollars. (AP, 15/6/04)

June 16: The government of Argentina is assessing a proposal from Havana to barter $US 100 million worth of Cuban medicines for its equivalent in Argentine food products, indicated the daily “Clarín”. According to official sources quoted by the newspaper, the proposal was well received by Argentina’s foreign ministry. The offer consists of vaccines against hepatitis and meningitis, as well as diagnostic equipment that would be earmarked for poorer sectors of the population. (EFE, 16/6/04)

June 16: Amid economic hardship and with the prospect of a scorching summer, with temperatures almost matching the 38.8 C record high set in April 1999, the Cuban government is taking steps to enforce energy conservation. A government memorandum was circulated instructing state enterprises “to unplug air-conditioners and non-essential equipment,” and schedule electric-powered agricultural irrigation between 10:00 pm and 10:00 am, to avoid peak consumption periods. A radio and television campaign calls for the conservation of energy in the residential sector which experts say is the biggest consumer. (Reforma, 16/6/04)

June 21: Iranian Ambassador to Havana Ahmad Edrissian and the Cuban Head of Iran-Cuba joint commission explored in Havana possible cooperation between the two countries. Given a 20-million euro loan by Iran to Cuba, Havana intends to expand trade with Tehran, he added. Edrissian said while Tehran and Havana have widespread political cooperation, their economic relations are not satisfactory. He further said that although Tehran and Havana have good cooperation in international fora, "the distance between the two nations has hindered their economic ties." "However, recently important steps have been taken in this regard," he added. The bilateral trade volume stood at US$50 million in 2003. The exchange includes Iran’s purchase of sugar and medicine from Cuba, while Iranian export to Cuba consists of raw material for textiles, plastics, sugar cane production machinery and electrical parts, he stated. (IRNA, 23/6/04)

June 23: Indian BIOCON Biopharmaceuticals, the joint venture with Cuban research company CIMAB, has said it has added five more products to the proposed portfolio. These will now include two additional monoclonal antibodies and three cancer vaccines, according to an agreement signed by Biocon CMD, Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and Ms Patricia Sierra of CIMAB in Havana. Biocon said the commercialisation of these products would herald its entry into novel and proprietary products. (The Hindu, 23/6/04)

June 25: Energy authorities have indicated that the long power outages affecting the country are due to a breakdown in the high voltage mains and maintenance in one of the main power plants. During the last week, the number of “apagones”—Cuban slang for power cuts—increased on the island. In Havana, scheduled blackouts have lasted periods of six to eight hours, at different intervals, both during the day and night. (World Data Service, 25/6/04)

June 25: At present, Santiago de Cuba handles much of Cuba’s domestic bulk trade, including grain, cement and fuel, but with modern container-handling equipment would be ideally placed to take transhipment business on board as well. Much of the transhipment business in the Caribbean is derived from cargo either going to, or coming from, the US and while the latter’s embargo exists such trade would be out of bounds to Cuba. But that does not prevent transit cargo from using Santiago de Cuba or any other port in the country once the US is not involved — and Washington does not belong to the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) anyway. Captain Rawle Baddaloo, acting president of Plipdeco, the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Corporation, and immediate past president of the Caribbean Ship-ping Association, is one of those who see great potential in Cuba. “Santiago de Cuba already regards itself as a Caribbean port, located as it is on Cuba’s Caribbean coast,” he says. “It clearly has the potential to become a competitor for transhipment cargo in the region. “It has a nice big harbour and the trade could develop in cargo moving among countries belonging to the ACS.” (UK Limited, 25/6/04)

June 28: The Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF has begun drilling for oil in waters 18 miles off Cuba's northwestern coast in an effort to reduce Havana's dependence on imports. Experts say Cuba must discover a deposit of light crude large enough to make it commercially feasible to spend more than $1 billion developing any deep-water field in the Gulf. Some Spanish oil industry executives have been quoted as saying the odds of Repsol-YPF finding such deposits are only one in 25. A Repsol official put the odds at one in four. And a Repsol-YPF engineer working to sink the well, told The Financial Times, ``The chances that we will find oil are better than winning the lottery or a casino jackpot. More like getting some of the numbers right or coming out ahead at the blackjack table on consecutive nights.'' Drilling has been delayed twice since one of the world's largest deep-water rigs, the Norwegian-owned Eirik Raude, arrived. Fidel Castro's younger brother and designated successor, Defense Minister Raul Castro, recently visited the Eirik Raude, as did Vice President Carlos Lage, oilmen said. (The Miami Herald, Reuters, 28/6/04)

June 28: The US administration's new measures to stiffen the four-decade embargo against Cuba will restrict the visits of Cuban-Americans, and could undermine the revenues that the island takes in through its fastest-growing industry: tourism. Studies carried out by the University of Colorado in Denver and the Brattle Group consulting firm indicate that if the travel ban was lifted, the Cuban tourism industry would see its revenues increase by nearly 576 million dollars in just the first year. Last month, sources at Cuba's Tourism Ministry admitted that the number of US citizens travelling to Cuba has fallen eight percent since the beginning of the year, due to the greater hurdles put in place by Washington. Visitors from the United States often fly to Cuba through a third country, and Cuban authorities refrain from stamping their passports on their way in and out. In 2002, of the 80,000 non-Cuban US citizens who visited the island, only around half had permission from Washington, according to analysts. A Travel and Leisure magazine survey among its US readers in 2003 found that Cuba was the favourite destination in the Caribbean. (IPS, 28/6/04)

June 29: The Jamaican government said it will continue to encourage business relations with Cuba, despite ongoing pressure by the United States to discourage investment by foreign companies in the communist nation. Jamaica regards Cuba as a "close and valued neighbor" as well as a "member of the Caribbean family" and hopes to further strengthen the two countries' trade and economic links, Foreign Minister Keith Desmond Knight told reporters during a two-day visit to Cuba. The visit by Knight, who is also foreign trade minister, came two weeks after Jamaican hotel chain SuperClubs announced it pulled out of two Cuban resort properties after threats from the US government that company executives would not be allowed into the United States. (AP, 29/6/04)