Chronicle on Cuba - June 2007

Economy

June 1: A legal battle between the transport subsidiary of the Cuban government, Naviera Poseidon, and Greek chartering operator Transways Enterprises has brought to light a long list of outstanding Cuban debts and a previously unknown structure of affiliated companies. The legal dispute involves a series of ship arrests stemming from the Cuban government's alleged failure to pay charter-party bills dating back to 2002 involving a sum of around $11m, according to legal documents. (Tradewinds, 1/6/07)

June 1: The presidents of municipal assemblies of the People's Power assessed the fulfillment of major social and economic programs underway in Cuba. On the second day of the meeting, Economy and Planning Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez referred to the fulfillment of projects to build houses and polyclinics and the control of fuel, Cuban television reported. On the latter, he lauded the work done in storage facilities and the replacement of vouchers for magnetic cards to buy fuel, and noted positive initiatives to prevent illegalities. For his part, Transportation Minister Jose Luis Sierra said that the government has made large investments to import vehicles, adding that resources must be saved to pay for the credits. He said that that cargo transportation has been reorganized experimentally in the western province of Pinar del Rio, and pointed out that buses will be imported to improve urban transportation in Havana and other provincial capitals. (Prensa Latina, 1/6/07)

June 1: Cuba's most western province, Pinar del Rio, was on alert due to heavy rains associated with a tropical depression in the northwest part of the western Caribbean Sea. According to Raul Vargas, an expert from the Pinar del Rio Meteorology Institute, heavy rains have led to the flooding of Cuyaguateje River, and limited road access in Isabel Rubio, a town that connects the municipalities of Guane and Sandino. Evacuation operations were begun in those municipalities, which are the most exposed to floods, and in which Civil Defense groups are working, the expert said. Vargas added that measures have been adopted to protect the harvested tobacco, as well as those agricultural products ready to be consumed. (Prensa Latina, 1/6/07)

June 1: The state energy firms of Vietnam and Cuba signed contracts for oil exploration and drilling both in the Gulf of Mexico and on shore. The agreement was signed by the Director General of PetroVietnam, Tran Ngoc Canh, and the director general of Cuba Petroleo, Fidel Rivero, in the presence of Cuba's acting president, Raul Castro, and the secretary general of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nong Duc Manh, according to an official communique. Both companies signed two shared-risk contracts for the exploration, perforation and exploitation of oil in blocks 31, 32, 42 and 43 of Cuba's economic exclusion zone and in blocks 16, 17 and 18 of the Cuban petroleum area on land. The Vietnamese oil company joins the Spanish-Argentine consortium  Repsol-YPF, which shares risk in six blocks with Norway's Norks Hydro and ONGC of India, the latter also having individual contracts for two blocks, as well as with Canada's Sherrit (4) and the Malaysian firm  Petronas (4) in the exploration of Cuba's deep-water deposits.   Venezuela's state oil company  Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) also has an agreement with Cuban authorities to exploit four blocks and another company, whose name has not been revealed, has contracted another four. Cuban authorities believe that, should the exploration and prospecting in the 59 blocks located in deep waters prove satisfactory, they could be able to begin commercializing crude from 2011 or 2012. (AP, EFE, 1,2/6/07)

June 1: Cuba is focusing on the development of renewable energy sources. But unlike Brazil, a leader in biofuels, this Caribbean island nation has ruled out the production of ethanol fuel based on sugarcane, because of Fidel Castro's opposition to using food crops to produce biofuel on a large scale. Cuban researchers continue to see the sugar industry, for decades the motor of the Cuban economy, as a strategic sector capable of producing food products for human and animal consumption, generating electricity from bagasse -- the fibrous by-product of sugar extraction from cane stalks -- or producing alcohol and even pharmaceutical products. "The first source of renewable energy remains sugarcane biomass, and if the strategy for the future is to produce energy in a decentralised manner and with diversified sources, this should be one of them," Cuban expert Julio Torres told the press. "Investment must be made in technological changes to make the electricity generating industry more efficient," said Torres. "The problem does not lie in the number of mills that are working, but in the quality of the mills." "Sugarcane biomass could be the start of the road towards sustainable energy production for our country," he added. The expert said there are plans to increase sugarcane production, but argued that researchers "must begin studying the best way to deal with the problems posed by climate change, which has a major impact on agriculture." (IPS, 1/6/07)

June 2: Cuba's Army General Raul Castro confirmed the country's preparedness to face weather phenomena, in a meeting in Havana with members of the Civil Defense direction and the Meteorology Institute, Granma daily reported. "This system is obliged to train better and better, due to complexities of times approaching since the climatic point of view and phenomena of another nature," Raul Castro stated. In the Institute of Meteorology, the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces minister reiterated modernization not only with rigorously scientific, but also rational conceptions from the material and financial perspective. He praised, among others, labors of the Forecast Center led by Jose Rubiera and the Marine Meteorology in the modernization of the central node of the national meteorological network. (Prensa Latina, 2/6/07)

June 2: Cuban vice-president, Carlos Lage, affirmed that “it is necessary to conserve more” and “to control more”, at the closing of a meeting of the presidents of the municipal and provincial governments of the island. Lage said that controls on the use of fuel “are still weak”, electricity consumption “can be reduced” and conservation “is insufficient”, in assessing the progress of the so called “Energy Revolution”-- a priority program of the Cuban government. The Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported that during the meeting the presidents of the municipal assemblies of the people’s power, along with high-ranking government officials, also analyzed issues such as housing, workplace discipline, the public transportation crisis, food production and sanitary and epidemiological conditions. (EFE, 4/6/07)

June 2: During a meeting with municipal authorities, Cuban vice-president Carlos Lage criticized the progress of the housing program, which is running behind schedule, and lashed out at inflated figures reported for the number of houses built last year. “Nothing justifies last year’s fraud and deception when a number of houses were reported finished and in fact they were not,” said Lage during his closing speech of a meeting with the municipal presidents of the Assemblies of the People’s Power published in the official daily “Granma”. Last year, Cuba reported 110,000 homes built out of a plan of 150, 000.
 (EFE, 2/6/07)

June 5: Incidental fire did away with some four thousand hectares of the Zapata swamps on the south coast of Matanzas province, the largest wetlands in the Caribbean. The catastrophe went on for almost two months and only ceased after several days of continued rainfall. According to the local forest ranger department, the work of some 160 men with technical support every day since March 30 could not fully extinguish the fire, which also partially damaged 800 other hectares. Dry branches and fallen trees brought down by hurricane Dennis two years ago got the fire going. Experts agreed that it was started near a pond visited by poaching hunters and fishermen and was the consequence of a neglectful action in the first place. Fortunately, the fire did not reach the east part of the wetlands, where there is the crocodile breeding center, the flower reserves, and some bird watch points, although the full impact on ecology has not yet been determined. (ACN, 5/6/07)

June 5: The International Investment Bank, in which Russia is the largest shareholder, will file suit against Cuba in the International Commercial Arbitration Court of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation over its debts of more than EUR80 mln. (SKRIN Newswire, 5/6/07)

June 6: A steep slump in the nation's once-principal industry has forced the Cuban government to import sugar from Brazil and Colombia for the past six years. Preliminary results of the 2007 harvest do not indicate a change in that trend. Although this year's harvest ended May 23 without any official comment on its production total, estimates from analysts and industry sources indicate it totaled 1.1 million metric tons. If accurate, the 2007 harvest would be the worst in 100 years, comparable only to those in 1903 and 1904, when production rose just above one million MTs. Authorities at the Sugar Ministry had set a goal for 2007 of 1.5-1.6 million MTs, but now acknowledge that barely 17 of the 51 active mills met their production plans, affected by the bad weather in eastern Cuba. ''The harvest was a disaster, even though it had more resources and 30 percent more cane was available than in the previous period,'' said dissident economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who every year analyzes the harvest for foreign publications. “We'll have to continue to import sugar for a long time.'' (The Miami Herald, 6/6/07)

June 6: An extensive technical-scientific and social programme is being developed in a metropolitan park in Havana, as part of Cuba's current efforts to promote a culture of environmental preservation. Yosiel Marrero, a Cuban environmental expert, said the project is approaching completion thanks to an integration of work on the environment and community education. An interesting offshoot of the plan's research results has been solutions to local problems like neighbourhood sewage treatment, he noted. The creation of urban habitat areas have allowed for the arrival of bird and reptile species that had not been seen around the city in years, Marrero pointed out. (The Economic Times, 6/6/07)

June 6: Cuban First Vice President Raul Castro presided over the ceremony at the startup of two electricity generators that will increase the country’s generating capacity. At the ceremony, Electric Union, Cuba Petroleo and Canadian Sherritt Utilities Inc., shareholders of the ENERGAS S.A. joint venture, signed an agreement to install a new 125-megawatt steam turbine. With the incorporation of the new units, the installed power generation capacity, using gas, increased to 495 megawatts, 395 MW in ENERGAS and 100 MW in the thermoelectric station east of Havana. Canada's Sherritt said it plans to invest $1.25 billion in Cuba over the next two years, bolstering its position in the island's oil, natural gas, electricity and nickel and cobalt mining sectors. ''Cuba is one of our favorite places to work,'' Sherritt President Ian Delaney said during the event marking the expansion of the Energas natural gas plant, 30 miles east of Havana, which his company manages jointly with state-owned Cuba Petroleo. Delaney did not specify what the new investments will be used for, saying only they will go toward a variety of projects. Sherritt is among the largest foreign investors in Cuba. Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage said his power-deficient country will continue building combined cycle generators as more natural gas is discovered. "Investment in power generation and oil production in association with foreign companies is a top priority for our country," Lage said at the opening. Granma also published a full text of the speeches delivered by Lage and Delaney. (The Miami Herald, Granma, Reuters, Prensa Latina, 7/6/07)

June 10: Cuban police raided and shut down clandestine Havana factories illegally making and selling tobacco products and their containers, and authorities announced that the underground tobacco dealers would be put on trial, the weekly “Tribuna de La Habana” reported. Among the cases uncovered in the sweep was that of a shop where the owner stockpiled empty boxes of well-known Havana export cigars - including Partagas, Cohiba and Romeo y Julieta, among others - and sold them to illegal tobacco vendors, the publication said. The man, who "had been fined before, maintained a high standard of living and had a salaried worker," was charged with engaging in "illicit economic activity. “Tribuna” also reported that "in other parts of the capital operations were carried out (…) [in which] clandestine factories dedicated to the illicit manufacturing and sale of tobacco products (were raided and) large quantities of the product (were seized)." The authorities have intensified the offensive against the producers and sellers of imitations of top-grade cigars, whereby they simply replace the high quality smokes in their boxes with improperly labeled knockoff brands. (EFE, 10/6/07)

June 11: The 12th session of Iran-Cuba Joint Economic Commission will be held on June 13-14 in Havana, reported the Ministry of Industries and Mines in Tehran. The Iranian delegation is represented by the Minister of Industries and Mines Alireza Tahmasbi and the Cuban delegation by the Minister of Government Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz. The two sides are expected to boost economic ties and other fields such as banking, agriculture, mass media, handicraft, the environment, oil, gas, petrochemical, and tourism industries. Agreements on wagon exports, cement plant and highways will be signed in the meeting. (Tehran Times, 11/6/07)

June 11: Cuba's largest foreign investor, Sherritt International Corp. sees business running smoothly under acting President Raul Castro and will push ahead with a $1.2 billion expansion in nickel mining, and oil and electricity production. Sherritt Executive Chairman Ian Delaney said there has been no adverse impact on the business climate since Fidel Castro took ill last year and handed over provisional power to his brother. "Raul is a very good and crisp decision-maker, so there certainly has been no adverse change," Delaney said in a telephone interview from Toronto. "For us things have continued to be good. He is a very good administrator," said Delaney, who met with the younger Castro for the opening of a power plant run by gas from coastal oil fields operated by Sherritt. exports. "The operating environment in Cuba is really good. Our business is being run well," Delaney said. The embargo has not been factored into Sherritt's plans in Cuba. "We made all of our investments on the basis of the current political environment, and we are quite happy with it," Delaney said. Sherritt is the world's lowest-cost nickel producer and is having a "terrific" time with prices now ten times higher than in 1999, Delaney said. "It's too easy to say that business is good in this high commodity environment," he said. "For us business was good when nickel was $2 (a pound). Recently, it traded as high as $22." (Reuters, 11/6/07)

June 13: The 12th meeting of the Iran-Cuba Economic Commission began at the headquarters of the Cuban Foreign Trade Ministry (MINCEX) in Havana headed by ministers of both countries. Specialists from the Cuban National Center for the Promotion of Foreign Trade announced that the visiting delegation is led by Alireza Tahmasbi, Minister of Industries and Mines, while the Cuban group is headed by Foreign Trade Minister Raúl de la Nuez. After the triumph of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Tehran and Havana re-established diplomatic relations in 1979 while bilateral cooperation relations began in 1981. There has been a considerable bilateral exchange of visits by delegations from the two countries in recent years, including the official visit to Cuba of former President Hojjatoleslam Seyed Mohammad Khatami. Fidel Castro visited Iran in 2001. Other Cuban high-ranking officials who have visited Tehran in recent years include Vice President Carlos Lage and the President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón. (AIN, 13/6/07)

June 13: Cuba and Iran, at their 12th Inter Governmental Commission for Economic and Scientific Technical Collaboration, in session in Havana, ratified their mutual interest in increasing bilateral collaboration. The respective delegations of Cuba and Iran, headed by Cuban Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas and Iranian Industry and Mining Minister Ali Reza Tahmasbi, discussed topics related to the oil, water, transport, biotechnology and sugar sectors. Cabrisas expressed his gratification at the arrival of the first Iranian shipments destined for the rehabilitation of the national aqueducts and water networks and Iran’s participation in the important electricity renovation and maintenance projects. The Cuban minister also noted that Iran has signed an agreement to send railroad cars, and the first 50 arrived in Cuba in May, which will assist in the slow restoration of Cuban railroad transport. Both ministers agreed on the need to augment economic and commercial relations between Cuba and Iran. (Prensa Latina, 13/6/07)

June 13: International airlines showed satisfaction for the discount to diverse aircraft services carried out by the Institute of Civil Aeronautics of Cuba (IACC), confirmed vice-president Mayda Molina. Foreign airlines welcome this measure, Molina told the press, when commenting on the decrease by 20 percent of the landing rates and parking of airplanes in force since May 1st. The tourist industry is one of the fundamental activities of the economy of the island, and it depends in great measure on air transport in its efforts for more growth. (Prensa Latina, 13/6/07)

June 14: Cuban Minister of Government Ricardo Cabrisas and Iran Industry and Mines Minister Ali Reza Tahmasbi signed an agreement establishing bilateral collaboration objectives in one group of economic sectors. Both Ministers chaired the 12th Session of the Intergovernmental Commission between Cuba and Iran, which concluded in Havana after four days in session. In the document signed by Cabrisas and Reza Tahmasbi are collected the agreements and purposes to carry out in the next years in several sectors of mutual economic cooperation. It also summarizes the evolution of commercial interchange of the current projects that are being carried out, the new interests of both parts, collaboration in agriculture, fishing and sugar industry among others. Three Memorandums of Understanding for Cubahidraulica were also signed, aimed at supplying accessories and equipment for aqueducts supply networks and technology for the building of dams. Other accords are addressed to information interchange on geologic prospecting and mining exploitation, new lines of railways production. On biotechnological cooperation, it was reported that a dialogue is under way between the two countries to analyze the use of a plant recently inaugurated in Iran with Cuban technology in order to increase Cuban exports of biotechnological products. According to Iranian sources, Iran pledged to grant a $ 200 million loan to Cuba. (Prensa Latina, AFP, EFE, IRNA, 14,16/6/07)  

June 18: Cuba's CIMEX Corporation is undertaking a series of construction works to support the operations of educational centers receiving Latin American students in the country and to benefit the local population in several Cuban provinces. As part of the initiative to improve service infrastructure in the South-Central province of Cienfuegos, the local branch of CIMEX in that territory is refurbishing and building a group of facilities that offer different services to the population. An article posted on the Webpage of the local "5 de septiembre" newspaper cites CIMEX president Eduardo Bencomo as saying that his entity is committed to provide infrastructure in the benefit of a large number of Latin American youths who come to the country to study medicine, as part of the regional integration initiative known Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA). (ACN, 19/6/07)

June 18: The executive director of the UN Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), Tanzanian Anna Tibaijuka, learned firsthand about Cuba's housing and preservation program. In their meeting, Victor Ramirez, president of the National Housing Institute, told Tibaijuka of the island's construction of 110,000 houses last year. The talks also concerned efforts to meet the pressing housing demand and fight the aftermath of natural phenomena, particularly hurricanes. The chief of the UN offices in Nairobi, the first African woman at the assistant secretary general rank of this body, also viewed the model of Havana and spoke with the Group for Comprehensive Development of the Capital about city planning. She is to meet as well with National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon and visit the Las Guasimas community, object of urban transformation and other social projects. On her agenda is a meeting with Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, a tour of Havana's historic district, and a visit with resident UNDP official Susan McDade. Before leaving Cuba, Tibaijuka will sign cooperation accords with the INV and Urban Planning Institute. (CAN, 19/6/07)

June 20: A cooperation agreement to improve the urban environment was signed in Havana by Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlement Program, and representatives from the Cuban National Institutes of Physical Planning and Housing. The cooperation forms part of the United Nations Habitat program that was launched in 2005, under the motto: "Improving the management of our cities and the environment of our housing." A total of 75.6 percent of Cuba’s 11.2 million population lives in urban areas. Graciel Perez and Oris Silvia Fernandez, president and first vice president of the Physical Planning and Housing Institutes, expressed their satisfaction with this exchange that will improve the technologies used in the planning and management of a sustainable urban environment. (Granma, 21/6/07)

June 21: The Isle of Youth, southwest off Cuba, has the highest percentage of different sources of electrical power generation, among them, solar energy in protected areas. Yuliet Carrillo, manager of COPEXTEL Energy Strategic Unit, stated that the ecologic reserve of Cayo Potrero, dedicated to the protection and reproduction of the Cuban crocodile, benefits with a photovoltaic system. That center has artificial lights, which run from solar radiation and do not damage the environment, while prolonging the feeding hours of the Rhombifer, an endemic reptile. The Isle of Youth has experience in solar energy with photovoltaic panels in the fishing industry and other strategic places. (Prensa Latina, 21/6/07)

June 23: A violent tropical storm caused damage to 527 homes and power outages in 52 neighbourhoods in the city of Guantánamo. The storm destroyed 15 houses, blew off roofs and knocked down the walls of 492 homes, and caused damage to the telephone lines. (EFE, 26/6/07)

June 25: The Cuban Communist Party has concluded a nationwide survey on how state-run businesses might operate more efficiently, increasing expectations for change under acting Cuban president and party leader Raul Castro. Party members from factories, hotels, transportation and other sectors were surveyed on the problems they faced in the largely state-run economy, said various government and academic sources who asked not to be identified. "We were asked how we would solve the problems without raising our budgets," one party member said. "We were told to express our views absolutely freely and that is what we did." Cuba's economy has been growing rapidly thanks to economic cooperation with oil-rich Venezuela, high nickel prices and soft trade credits from China.   But major industries such as tourism and agriculture have declined, state wages remain low compared with prices, bureaucracy and corruption have led to poor productivity, wasted resources and popular frustration. Western diplomats and many experts believe Fidel Castro's improving health might slow or even stop Raul Castro's efforts. "From one year to the next the standard of living can be improved by raising knowledge, self-esteem and the dignity of people. It will be enough to reduce wastage and the economy will grow," Castro wrote in apparent reference to the economic debate. (Reuters, 25/6/07)

June 25: The recurring problem of harvests being lost in the fields through insufficient transport to get them to market was one of several issues facing Cuban farmers that was discussed at the national meeting of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), held in Havana Province. The problem of transporting products from the farm is not new. Crop losses were often reported even in the days when there were sufficient trucks, showing that poor coordination can also lead to losses. Maria del Carmen Concepcion, a member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party Central Committee, said the contracts must be improved, above all with milk, where there has been a gap between what is produced and what is reported. This is verified with the increase in the price paid to the farmer, because with the same number of cows, more milk is being purchased. Orlando Lugo, president of ANAP, warned that even if the payments to the cooperatives improve with the new measures, follow-up must assure that delayed payments don’t reoccur.  Joaquin Lezcano, vice minister of Agriculture, noted that milk losses between January and May of this year dropped by 350,000 liters compared to the same period in 2005. He attributed the improvement to greater availability of Stabilak, a natural preservative, and more efficient pick-ups. (Granma, 25/6/07)

June 26: The Cuban government was ready to transfer the sugarcane-based ethanol-making technology to Nigeria, said Elio Olivia, the Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria. Olivia said that the development would be part of the effort to boost economic cooperation between the two countries. Cuba was not only prepared to share its expertise in the production of varieties of sugarcane, but also in the production of alternative sources of energy with Nigeria, he added. Cuba was ready to cooperate with the country in other areas of agricultural production, such as the cassava-based food products and cassava-to-ethanol technology, according to the ambassador. "Nigeria being the largest producer of cassava will benefit from such an exercise at both the federal and state levels," he said. (People’s Daily Online, 26/6/07)

June 26: Trade between Malaysia and Cuba in the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector is expected to flourish from the current minimal amount to about US$200 million this year. Cuba's Ambassador Pedro Monzon B. said the healthy growth would be driven by huge opportunities in both the countries' ICT sector especially in personal computer parts and components. The Cuban government is committed to promoting the country as an ICT centre, Pedro said during a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur on the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Second Business Forum to be held in Havana this November. (Bernama, 26/6/07)

June 26: Cuba will host the Second Business Council Forum of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on November 2-3 to encourage stronger business ties among NAM member countries. According to the Embassy of Cuba in Malaysia, the forum will be held on the occasion of the 25th Havana International Fair which will fall on November 5-10 to probe new forms of cooperation in trade, investment and finance as feasible alternatives to strengthen links among South countries. (Xinhua, 26/6/07)  

June 26: With the general increase in the price of food products this year on the international markets, the cost of the basic food supply (family basket) provided by the Cuban government to its entire population at subsidized prices, will be around one billion US dollars. That reality and the complexity involved in transporting the products to each distribution point will require that the Cuban government and in particular the Ministry of Internal Commerce, achieve a higher level of organization and efficiency. Marino Murillo, the Minister of Internal Commerce, described the situation during an exchange with members of the parliamentary Population Services Commission. Murillo reviewed the state of the recovery program in progress involving warehouses of the Wholesale Food Distribution Entity, and other interests of this sector. The actions are advancing, he said, with the goal to reach a capability of some 200,000 tons of product stored in optimal conditions by the end of the year (equivalent to a quarter of the storage capacity at all facilities). But Murillo also noted that there are delays and deficiencies in territories including Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas. (Granma, 26/6/07)

June 26: The Cuban economy registered record levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2006. According to the Cuban minister of FDI, Martha Lomas, in 2006 US$981 million entered the Caribbean island. That represents a 22% increase over FDI inflow during 2005. Lomas, who yesterday faced the economic commission in the Cuban legislative body, explained that these investments represent 8% of the Cuban GDP and were the product of the changes in foreign investment policy. The main areas in which investments are taking place are mining, tourism, electricity, construction, and foods. The main investors in Cuba are Spain, Canada, Italy, France, China, and Venezuela. (Global Insight, 26/6/07)

June 27: As we save more energy and become more economically efficient, the country will be able to advance towards development and we will improve the quality of life of our people, said Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage. Addressing the plenary session of the Cuban Parliament at Havana's Convention Center, in which participants analyzed the march of the Energy Revolution on the island, Lage stressed that priority must be given to everything that leads to saving instead of wasting. In this regard, he said that, today, the country consumes 34% of the kerosene, 40% of the GLP (Liquified Gas) and 80% of the gasoline it consumed before the beginning of the energy saving program. However, he recalled that Cuba has not completely recovered from the situation of the so-called Special Period yet. He noted that there has been a significant decrease of power cuts, an effort in which the country has invested more than $1.5 billion for new electricity generating plants while $250 million are currently being invested in the improvement of the network of electricity distribution. (ACN, 27/6/07)

June 28: Cuba presented its National Environmental Strategy 2007-2010, a document that analyzes the main ecological problems of the island. Entitled “Cuba: principal environmental problems,” the document addresses issues like soil degradation, shrinking forestland, pollution, loss of biodiversity and water scarcity. (AP, 28/6/07)  

June 28: Cuba has adopted a series of measures to improve the tourism industry's competitive position in the Caribbean and reverse a two-year slide in visitors, state-media reported. "Today the ministry is working on new investments and repairing hotels of historic interest in the cities," Minister Manuel Marrero told parliament deputies, the Communist Party newspaper Granma reported. “Another main objective (…) is to add new services and make our offer more competitive in general," he said. Landing fees were recently reduced 20 per cent at airports and jet fuel set at market prices to bring the communist-run island in line with other Caribbean destinations. To reduce theft, local carrier Cubana Airlines is plastic wrapping all luggage, with the service optional for other airlines. "But package and hotel rates remain 20 percent less in the Dominican Republic, and in Cancun they are similar but the service is far superior," a tour operator said. Visitors fell to 2.2 million last year from 2.3 million in 2005. It was the first drop since the September 11 attacks on the United States hurt the travel industry worldwide in 2002. The number of tourists dropped 7 per cent in January and 13 per cent in February compared with the same period in 2006, the Tourism Ministry reported, before ending publication of monthly figures for the first time in years. (Reuters, 28/6/07)

June 28: Cuban Sugar Minister Ulises Rosales del Toro reported to the Cuban unicameral Congress that measures are being applied to reduce the negative effects of climate change on national sugar production. Rosales spoke at the ninth period of sessions of the National People’s Power Assembly, and said the work is now concentrated on preparing for the 2007-2008 sugar harvest, in order to pay greater attention to sugar seedlings. The Cuban Sugar minister said the measures were taken after atmospheric conditions caused an extremely complex 2006-2007 harvest; with too much rain in some territories, and drought in others. Rosales highlighted the progress in other areas under his ministry, such as cattle breeding, and the use of prior sugar fields for fruit, vegetables and other crops. (Prensa Latina, 28/6/07)

June 28: Cuba is pouring significant amounts of resources into passenger and freight transportation, but improvements will take time after years of neglect, the country's transportation minister said. "Rehabilitating the transportation system has run up against the significant deterioration it suffered (...) meaning that to make the best use of resources in the sector requires a gigantic organizational effort," Minister Jorge Luis Sierra told a closed-door session of parliament, state-run media reported. After spending more than $2 billion since 2005 to modernize Cuba 's energy grid, transportation has been targeted for a similar overhaul, government officials have told foreign officials. Cuba recently formed joint ventures with Venezuela to improve the country's shaky rails and potholed roads, and signed contracts to purchase more than 6,000 buses from China, 100 railway cars for cargo from Iran and thousands of motors for antiquated Soviet-era trucks. "The purchase of equipment guarantees a progressive improvement in transportation service, but still it will not reach 1986-1990 levels," Sierra said. (Reuters, 29/6/07) 

June 29: Cuba is repaying debts to farmers and promising higher prices for milk and meat in an attempt to increase flagging food production. It's trying to head off a crisis in its food system: Production dropped 7 percent last year, imports are becoming more expensive and consumers complain their tiny government salaries don't allow them to buy more than a few items a month at supply-and-demand farmers markets. Finance and Prices Minister Georgina Barreiro said that the state had paid off 550 million pesos (US $23 million) in debts to the small farmers and cooperatives that grow two-thirds of the island's fruits and vegetables, and renegotiated debts worth 863 million pesos (US$35 million). "These debts never should have accumulated," Barreiro told a National Assembly session headed by Acting President Raul Castro. The government in recent weeks has instituted a new billing and payment system in which banks must pay producers immediately. Lawmaker Orlando Lugo, president of the National Association of Small Farmers, said more than half of Cuba's 3,500 cooperatives are using the new system or are about to start. Parliament agreed to pay producers 2 1/2 times more for milk and meat included in the island's heavily subsidized ration program and in meals provided at similarly low-cost workplace cafeterias, schools, hospitals and community centers. The country spends US$1.6 billion a year importing food, about a third of it from the US. Even 82 percent of the food sold at subsidized prices on the ration system is imported. (Reuters, 29/6/07)