Over the past month three shipments of cattle on the hoof arrived in Cuba, 400 head in all. Their provenance: Florida, USA. The exporter, John Park Wright, says that he intends to go on selling to Cuba. Since late 2001, when Washington authorised the sale of foodstuffs to Cuba, the state marketing firm Alimport reckons that some 2.2m tonnes, worth about US$400m, have been imported.
At present, imports from the US account for about 30% of Cuba's food import bill, estimated at US$1bn a year. Alimport reckons that the US share could rise to 60% soon, given the current rate of growth of transactions. Moreover, Alimport calculates that the island's spending on imported foodstuffs could increase to US$1.4bn in the next few years.
There is only one real constraint on growth under the current arrangement: Cuba's liquidity. Washington has stipulated that the exports must be paid in cash.
Deal on prison terms
Last week a court in Camagüey handed down prison sentences of seven to 10 years on six Cubans who in mid-July had hijacked a boat to flee to the US. They were picked up by the US coastguard and, after a swift agreement by Cuba not to impose terms of more than 10 years, were handed back to Havana - braving the ires of the Cuban exiles in Miami, who recalled that it was only four months ago that Cuba was condemned for shooting three perpetrators of a similar hijacking.
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