Business & Economy

Cuba needs to make millions of dollars in improvements as part of the restructuring of its sugar industry, reported authorities on Wednesday at the opening of the 50th Congress of the Association of Sugar Technicians of Cuba, being held at the Havana Convention Center.

The Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA is poised to see if three can be the charm as it begins to drill an offshore well off the coast of far western Cuba. Previous attempts by Spanish and Malaysian companies came up dry.

The Japanese Embassy in Cuba on Tuesday donated four fire engines to the Cuban Fire Department. The vehicles will be added to those of the Commando No.1 Fire Brigade in Old Havana, a densely populated community of old buildings and narrow streets.

Eight Brazilian companies in the textile and footwear industries met with their Cuban counterpart on Friday in Havana for a round of business negotiations aimed at increasing trade between the two countries.

The National Statistics Office of Cuba (ONE) reports that the country is producing less food than five years ago, while food prices rose 20 percent in 2011 alone.

The US Republican running mate, Paul Ryan, committed an error by supporting the ending of the embargo against Cuba for years, but now he has corrected his position, said Cuban-American Congressional representative Mario Diaz-Balart on Thursday.

The Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil, Fernando Pimentel, signed an agreement on Thursday in Havana granting a $200 million loan to the island for agricultural development.

The US Treasury Department is implementing new measures that impede the “People to People Program,” established under President Barack Obama in 2011 to facilitate travel between that country and Cuba.

The current economic reforms being implemented by Cuban President Raul Castro will be insufficient to raise the living standards of the island’s people, according to a study released on Monday in Havana by the local Catholic magazine Espacio Laical.

A total of 413 Cuban beaches are showing signs of erosion, with the rate of coastline loss averaging 1.2 meters per year, indicated recent research that was released by the official Granma newspaper.