8 Cover story “I don’t see the new changes opening up Cuba to something like huge boatloads of private grain shipments,” Johnson says, “but it seems like there could be new opportunities for smaller, specialized grain exports through additional buyers other than the government.” But while these positive developments sound promising, they mask a greater and dire woe belying Cuba. For example, currently, Cuba imports 70 per cent of its food and exports a pittance. When the Soviet Union collapsed, any semblance of economic vibrancy that accompanies a healthy import-export mix disappeared. Canada has been one of Cuba’s strongest trading partners. However, without significant output from Cuba, the trade imbalance is significant, CAD $66 million in February alone. The farming sector is sluggish. Food production was a vital part of the Cuban Revolution, employing thousands of Cubans and providing everyone with some measure of their basic needs. But, the long-standing Communist rule in which most agricultural land is owned by the state no longer motivates farmers. They are paid low wages, they have no modern equipment or supplies, and their numbers are dwindling, with 600,000 Cubans (mostly young people) having left the country in the past two years. This has all led to a perfect storm. Twothirds of Cubans still count on the federal government for a living and for basic food necessities. Normally, items such as powdered milk, rice, ground soy, baloney, eggs and chicken are made available to Cubans through government ration books. However, ration reliability has tailed off as the government has become increasingly poorer, and farmers’ production has dropped by as much as 90 per cent for some commodities. The severity of the problem was underlined in February when Cuba took the unprecedented step of asking the United Nations World Food Programme to send powdered milk for children. “This is a generational change that affects everyone,” says Johnson. “People are adjusting to the change in the economic model.” Johnson continues his efforts to work through political channels for change. His organization, comprising U.S. businesses such as grain companies and food processors eager to trade with Cuba, meets regularly with federal decision makers to describe how a private sector has developed in Cuba and try chipping away at the stubborn American trade embargo against the country. Reducing the embargo to any extent would help ease Cuba’s desperation. Johnson was hopeful U.S. President Joe Biden would take a softer line than former President Donald Trump. However, that hasn’t happened. “The U.S. government’s primary concern is the lack of freedom in Cuba,” Johnson says. “But the image of a capitalist in Cuba is in flux, and we’re all sorting through the changes.” • continued from page 7
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