Business & Economy

Half of Cuba’s idle farmland still hasn’t been handed over for agricultural production under the government program to do so, said Orlando Lugo, president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP). Nonetheless, according to Lugo, more than 60,000 persons have been incorporated to agricultural work and are already reaping benefits from a million hectares which had previously been invaded by shrubs such as marabú.

The up to 50 per cent increase in Cuban emigrants’ trips in the first four months of the year, as compared to 2009, has given a boost to tourist arrivals, which reached the unprecedented figure of 1,053,000 in these four months, Minister of Tourism Manuel Marrero recognized when speaking at the International Tourism Fair being held in this capital.

Cuba will conclude this 2010 the worse sugar harvest since 1905 due to organizational errors and mistakes in the calculations made before the harvest of the country’s former most important economic sector, reported IPS. The poor results could be the main reason for the dismissal of Minister of the Sugar Industry Luis Manuel Avila González, announced on Monday.

With a debt of 30.41 billion dollars, Cuba ranks in second place behind Indonesia on the list of the Paris Club’s debtor countries, according to a report released in the French capital by that group of 19 developed countries, created in 1956. The nations that owe the most include China and India in third and fourth place.

The 30th Cuban International Tourism Fair begins Monday in this capital, reported IPS. Russia will be the guest of honor on this occasion, with a delegation of hotel companies and tour operators headed by Alexander Radkov, vice president of the Federal Tourism Agency. This year the island expects a growth in the number of visitors from Russia to reach the figure of 45,000.

Cuba could become a partner with India in the area of biotechnology, affirmed Miguel Ramírez, the island’s ambassador to that Asian country, when speaking at the 4th India-Latin America and the Caribbean Meeting being held in New Delhi. According to the diplomat, cooperation could take place especially in the sphere of human vaccines, where the Caribbean country has made important progress.

The Cuban authorities banned the import of auto and motorbike engines and bodyworks, which they had approved two years ago, according to a new resolution published in the Gaceta Oficial. Two months before the government also decided to cancel the purchase of modern cars abroad to replace older models.

Cuba owes the United States six billion dollars for the expropriation of U.S. persons and companies carried out by Fidel Castro’s government after 1959, according to data from the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. The island’s government, for its part, has documented that the US embargo has caused Cuba losses worth more than 96 billion dollars.

Cuba’s new requirement that travelers to the island either have coverage from an approved foreign health insurance company or purchase a policy from a Cuban firm at the airport takes effect on Saturday May 1.

The Cuban government has decided to make new investments in sea cargo vessels as well as modernize port facilities. The goal is to increase freight movement by sea, which currently only represents 1.9 percent compared to 79.2 percent by truck.