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State apple growers keep eye on Cuba

By Michelle Iracheta, Yakima Herald-Republic
Published: November 30, 2016, 4:46pm

Yakima — In the wake of Fidel Castro’s death, Washington apple growers are watching the political winds both here and in Cuba, a country that could potentially import more than a half-million boxes a year.

While not a huge market, Cuba could provide another outlet for the state’s growing apple production.

“There is interest in seeing where … opportunities might lie,” said Joe Bippert, international marketing program manager for the state Department of Agriculture. “There’re so many things happening right now. It’s tough to get too excited about it, until there is a clear path to it and it’s open.”

Bippert said until an embargo is lifted by Congress, Washington growers are sitting back and watching how President-elect Donald Trump and Castro’s death will change the playing field.

While President Barack Obama lifted some embargo restrictions against Cuba through executive action, Trump has tweeted he’ll overturn what he calls the Cuba “deal,” and Fidel Castro openly criticized the lifting made possible by his brother, Raul Castro.

Even though Raul Castro has had some success with building a relationship with the U.S., trade is not going to get any easier that much quicker, said Desmond O’Rourke, an apple marketing analyst and founder of Belrose Inc., based in Pullman.

“Some think that with his brother dead, things will change,” O’Rourke said. “It’s his regime. The Communist Party controls everything in Cuba. They are not going to open the gate.”

If they did, because of their low per capita incomes, most Cubans, except the elite and Communist Party officials, can’t afford Washington apples at this time, O’Rourke said.

The best opportunities would be in the tourist trade, such as hotels, restaurants, stores or other places that cater to tourists, he said.

About 16 years ago, Washington growers packed 2.2 million pounds of apples into crates and trucked them off to a Gulf Coast port where they were then shipped to Cuba. State politicians, agriculture leaders and Cuban diplomats all believed the shipment, the first of its kind in 40 years, would lead to growing trade relations between the two nations.

But that hasn’t necessarily been the case, O’Rourke said.

The lack of formalized banking relationships between Cuba and the U.S. has been the biggest hurdle in getting growers to trade, said Todd Fryhover, director of the Washington Apple Commission.

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