Havana, April 27 (RHC)-- A business mission from the U.S. state of Texas is visiting Cuba this week to meet with local companies, including Alimport, Cuba's food import enterprise.
According to Cubadebate website, which cites the daily Dallas Morning News, the trade mission includes companies in the field of agriculture, air transportation, oil, technology and tourism.
Cynthia Thomas, president of Dallas-based TriDimension Strategies, a consulting firm that helps clients interested in doing business in Cuba, is leading the delegation, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The Texas delegation hopes to sell everything from rice, livestock, beans and cotton to powdered milk, Thomas said.
Texan business people have made efforts for years to pave the way for trade relations with Cuba, which has been banned by the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade of the island.
In 2008, a 24-member agriculture mission from Texas visited the island during four days; by that time, the U.S. state would sell Cuba nearly 25 million dollars in agricultural products annually under a special food and pharmaceuticals license.
But larger scale trade would have to wait until the U.S. blockade is lifted and this is a decision to be taken by the U.S. Congress. “We see light at the end of the tunnel, but we just don’t know how long the tunnel is,” said Dwight Roberts, president of the U.S. Rice Producers Association.
