Cuban Agriculture Hit by U.S. Economic Blockade

The economic, commercial and financial embargo, imposed nearly a half century ago on Cuba by the United States, represents a hold on the development of agriculture in the Caribbean nation. The import company QUIMIMPORT, for example, which is responsible for supplying fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to this sector, could acquire many of these products from the U.S. market if no such stance existed on the part of Washington.

According to a report on Resolution 65/6 of the United Nations General Assembly, entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba,” it was impossible for the largest of the Antilles to directly import phosphate from the U.S. — a complication caused by the need to comply with U.S. provisions of the blockade. This document also states that the company had to import phosphate from other markets at an additional cost of $197,600.

The document further states that despite intense and increasing calls by the international community for the U.S. government to change its strategy toward Cuba, President Barack Obama continues to hold steadfast to the current policy. The document also states that the blockade violates international law, stands contrary to the principles of the United Nations and constitutes a transgression of the development and security of a sovereign state. It adds that this policy is, in its essence and objectives, an act of unilateral aggression, a permanent threat to the stability of a nation and a direct violation of the constitutional rights of the American people, as it interferes with their freedom to travel to Cuba.

The economic damage that the embargo caused the Antillean nation until December 2010, conservatively calculated at current prices, amounted to a figure exceeding $104 billion. But if one takes into account the depreciation of the dollar against the value of gold in international financial markets, which has been extremely elevated over the course of the past year, then its effect on the Cuban economy would constitute more than $975 billion.