Business & Economy

Cuba strengthened its trade relations with Argentina, Canada and Mexico as a result of the exchanges held by representatives of the business sector during the International Havana Trade Fair, being held in this capital. The island increased its exports to Argentina from 1.5 million dollars in 2009 to 3.5 million this year, it was reported during this event, the largest business mart of the Caribbean country.

Cuban exports increased by 21 per cent in the third quarter of this year, while imports barely grew one per cent as compared to the same period in 2009, Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca said when inaugurating the International Havana Trade Fair. According to the official, these results have made it possible to reduce by seven per cent the trade deficit of goods and improve the country’s liquidity problems.

The prices for agricultural products in Cuba increased an average of 4.5 per cent in the first nine months of 2010, according to the Sales in the Agricultural Market report published by the National Office of Statistics (ONE). During that period there was also an increase in the supply in the non-subsidized markets mainly due to the sale of potatoes, reported IPS. Potatoes used to be distributed to the population on their ration cards at a considerably lower price.

The 28th International Havana Trade Fair (FIHAV), the island’s principal commercial mart, will begin today in Expocuba fairgrounds on the outskirts of the Cuban capital, the local press reported. The event is being attended by representatives from more than 400 Cuban entities and from the business sector in 58 countries.

The underwater fibre-optic cable that will join Cuba to Venezuela will finally start being laid next January and will be operational in July 2011, Waldo Reboredo, vice president of the Gran Caribe Telecommunications joint venture, affirmed. This link will allow the island to increase by 3,000 the current speed of data, image and voice broadcasting.

Alfredo Morales Cartaya, Cuba’s former minister of Labor and Social Security died on Saturday in Havana after suffering a heart attack. Morales Cartaya, 62, was a member of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and also a member of the country’s parliament. He was previously the secretary general of the Cuban Worker’s Federation (CTC).

Cuba’s state run Union Electrica power company announced a rate hike on Friday for consumers of more than 300 kilowatts per month. The firm said the increase was needed because of higher oil prices on the international market.

The latest initial rules and regulations for self-employment and small business in Cuba are being sold at newsstands around the country. Juventud Rebelde newspaper has posted the official Gaceta publication in two documents online (in Spanish).

Representatives of public health in Cuba expressed their backing for the reorganization of the labor force, greater economic efficiency and improving services for the population when speaking at the 10th Congress of the Public Health Trade Union, being held in the island’s capital, reported IPS. The Cuban authorities have begun a program of cutting back on spending on health care to face the economic crisis.

Cuba ranked 69th among 178 countries studied in the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, carried out by the Transparency International global network. The island, with a result of 3.7 on 10, ranked in 9th place in the Americas, where the list of less corrupt nations is headed by Canada, with 8.9.