For American farmers now visiting Havana, bilateral exchange should be above political tensions and obstacles.
“Regardless of the Administration or political changes, we all have to eat,” said to Latin Press PJ Haynie during the Agricultural Conference Cuba-United States which takes place in the Cuban capital.
Haynie and his colleagues are not just betting on commerce. “We want to ensure that we consume products of the best quality possible,” added the farmer, director of Haynie Family Foods—a leading company in corn, soy, rice and wheat—and promoter of exchanges of sustainable techniques with Cuban producers to increase yields and ensure high-quality rice on the island.
Andrés Schade, director of the delegation, stated that the trip strengthens that alliance, allowing researchers to analyze Cuban practices and optimize local varieties for greater efficiency.
For his part, Paul Johnsonpresident of the bilateral Agricultural Coalition, highlighted the commercial diversification and memoranda between universities and productive entities, despite restrictions due to the inclusion of Cuba on the US list of sponsors of terrorism.
This is the 2024 trilateral agreement, signed between the Agricultural Center of Louisiana State University, the US Department of Agriculture and the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture, according to P.L..
Of obstacles and perspectives
In the previous conference, held in May 2024the deputy director of the United States department in the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Johana Tablada, recalled that the food sector has the “only significant window” against Washington’s sanctions, but stressed that it is only for importing products to Cuba and not for the island to sell to the United States.
“Today we know that the regulations, laws and decisions of the US Government do not seem to go in the direction of making the relationship with Cuba more flexible or allowing trade relations. We even know that for the non-state (Cuban) sector there was a lot of talk about changes, but there have not been any. Hopefully,” the official stated then in statements to EFE.
Meanwhile, the lawyer, businessman and former Democratic congressman Joe Garciawho at that time was advising on commercial issues, also told the Spanish agency that Havana still had to, among other issues, favor foreign investment in the private sector and legally guarantee these investments, in addition to allowing the expansion of licenses and the use of agricultural property for commerce.
The numbers
Exports of agricultural and food products from the United States to Cuba registered an increase of 34.6% in July 2025 compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching $42.3 million, according to official figures. The data represents an increase compared to the 31.4 million reported in July 2024 and the 32.3 million in 2023, he said. Cubatrade.
Agricultural and food exports from the US to Cuba grow by 34% in July 2025
Between January and July of this year, accumulated exports totaled 285.7 million dollars, 18% more than in the same period of 2024, when they stood at 242 million.
The list of products includes basic foodstuffs such as eggs ($500,827), wheat ($1.7 million) and corn ($11,951), as well as others such as peanuts, soybean oil and various industrial inputs.
In September of this year, in a step that indicates the duality of the trade policy towards Cuba, the president donald trump announced the extension for one year, until September 14, 2026, of the licenses that authorize exports from the United States to the island.
