Cuba and Vietnam have finalized a group of agreements on the production of rice and coffee, according to statements to Latin Press (PL) of the Vice Minister of Agriculture (MINAG) Maury Hechavarría.
the official communicated that the fundamental objective is “to achieve food security” and, in addition to the production of rice or coffee, it involves other products such as potatoes.
We have held magnificent meetings with Mr. Tran Thanh Nam Vice Minister of Agriculture #Vietnam to promote bilateral relations and cooperation in the agri-food sphere. @MINAGCuba #BestIsPossible pic.twitter.com/M9EJ9CFi2m
— Maury Hechavarría Bermúdez (@MauryHechavarr1) April 21, 2023
As for cereal, the Cuban government extended a cooperation project to produce it until 2025. Now, in addition, it will admit foreign investments for which potential investors were identified, according to the official.
In the case of coffee, he recalled that there is already a cooperation program through which the Vietnamese Robusta variety was introduced in Cuba, with encouraging results.
In this crop, the island obtained around 250 kilograms per hectare and now production has increased to two tons on that same area, Hechavarría explained. The idea is to start a second stage that will boost foreign investment to increase production volumes, be able to export and satisfy national demand.
Vietnam-Cuba business forum closes with the signing of trade agreements
According to Hechavarría, in the work meetings with the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, other possible areas of collaboration were evaluated, including the development in Cuba of potato seeds, which today are almost entirely imported, PL points out.
The vice president celebrated the upcoming start-up of an animal feed production plant, with Vietnamese capital, and the possibility of opening another with a greater capacity (about 360,000 tons), for the development of pig and poultry farming.
Similarly, the industry of the Cuban company Labiofam, installed in the province of Can Tho, must restart its operations with five bioproducts for agricultural use.
At the end of April, companies from the Asian nation inaugurated a detergent factory and a solar energy park, in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), where Vietnam has five businesses whose committed investment capital exceeds 160 million dollars.
The opening of these businesses took place during the Forum for the Promotion of Trade and Investment Vietnam-Cuba, when memorandums of understanding were signed between Vietnam Airline and Cubana de Aviación, and the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE) and the Vietnamese company Power Engineering Consulting Join Stock Company 2 (EVN-PECC2).
Hechavarría also highlighted the signing of an agreement with a local company for the production, exchange and commercialization of veterinary medicines, and the decision to convene a Business Forum for next October in Hanoi to promote business and investment in the Cuban agricultural sector.
In addition to Vietnam, where it arrived on May 11, the MINAG delegation previously exhausted a full work schedule in neighboring Cambodia and Laos, PL points out.
