Indiana eyeing Cuba for potential ag exports
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana agriculture leaders are continuing to look for new markets throughout the world to supply products made in the Hoosier State.
Last month, a delegation led by the Indiana Soybean Alliance traveled to Indonesia to work toward a deal to export up to 2.5 million metric tons of soybeans to the country each year.
Another market of interest for Indiana is Cuba, and Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Don Lamb recently returned from a trade mission to the country, which he said proved to be eye opening.
Speaking with Inside INdiana Business Host Gerry Dick, Lamb said Cuba is very different than the places Indiana currently ships to.
“Cuba is really in that very initial stage of what can we really do there,” he said. “Of course, Cuba is 90 miles off our coast with 11 million people that to be honest with you are really pretty hungry. They do not have a lot of food and Cuba, and so they need a lot of things, and there’s an opportunity there.”
Lamb said while there are challenges to making trade deals with the government, Cuba has made some positive changes to its constitution since 2021 allowing the private sector to play a larger role in the economy.
“That’s really what has gotten us more excited about being able to deal with Cuba,” he said. “It may not be even on the government level as much as it is in that private sector level of a producer being able to purchase an input from the United States that would help them produce something in Cuba.”
But during the trade trip to Cuba, Lamb said he was surprised to see the environment around food and rationing, which is vastly different from the U.S. and gave him an appreciation of how things are here.
“The ration right now for eggs [in Cuba] is five eggs per person, per month,” he said. “So, in talking about being kind of discouraging, when we think about the way we’re able to live here and what we’re able to do, and then what if we were limited to five eggs per month, it’s a life changer. They just live a different lifestyle than then we’re blessed to live right here.”
However, Lamb said he believes Cuba could be a future market for American and, specifically, Indiana agriculture. He said any trade deal that could be made wouldn’t happen quickly, but there are opportunities.
Lamb said expanding global markets, workforce and economic development will all be areas of focus in the year ahead.