The Associated Press/HAVANA
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press Writer
Drop in Cuba exports hurts trade deficit
NOV. 8 3:39 P.M. ET Low nickel prices and a decline in sugar sales have reduced Cuban exports this year while imports are on the rise, deepening a trade deficit, officials said.
Exports rose 30 percent from 2003 to 2004 when the island nation sent abroad more than US$2 billion (euro1.7 billion) in goods, accounting for 27 percent of the country's US$7.5 billion (euro6.4 billion) in total trade.
Yet this year through September, exports have accounted for just 23 percent of Cuba's trade, compared to 77 percent of imports, said Antonio Carricarte, the deputy foreign trade minister. He did not provide the overall value of this year's trade.
"Exports show a certain decline, due primarily to the decrease in the sales of sugar and its derivatives as well as the fall of prices for nickel in the international market," Carricarte said in an interview in the government's business weekly Opciones. He did not provide specific figures.
Tobacco sales, however, were up 12 percent this year, he said, as were nontraditional exports in the biotechnological, pharmaceutical and technical service sectors.
Imports, meanwhile, rose 34 percent through September of this year, led by purchases of oil, food and machinery from countries including Venezuela, China, Spain, and the United States, Carricarte said.
Overall, trade has grown about 22 percent in the first nine months of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004, the official said.
Venezuela has become Cuba's top trading partner, with $1.4 billion (euro1.2 billion) in commerce annually -- the vast majority in imports of Venezuelan petroleum.
Trade with China has also surged, increasing 48.2 percent this year through September as compared to the same period of 2004, Carricarte said.
The Netherlands, Canada, Spain and Russia are the other main markets for Cuban exports.
Nickel makes up 46 percent of Cuba's total exports, Carricarte said. The island nation is among the world's top five suppliers of nickel, extracting 76,900 tons each year.
Cuba's sugar industry, once the economic motor of this Caribbean nation, has suffered in recent years as it undergoes a major restructuring that has closed down more than half the island's refineries. Severe, persistent droughts on the island have also affected sugar harvests.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8DOGQ5OD.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ
Associated Press Writer
Drop in Cuba exports hurts trade deficit
NOV. 8 3:39 P.M. ET Low nickel prices and a decline in sugar sales have reduced Cuban exports this year while imports are on the rise, deepening a trade deficit, officials said.
Exports rose 30 percent from 2003 to 2004 when the island nation sent abroad more than US$2 billion (euro1.7 billion) in goods, accounting for 27 percent of the country's US$7.5 billion (euro6.4 billion) in total trade.
Yet this year through September, exports have accounted for just 23 percent of Cuba's trade, compared to 77 percent of imports, said Antonio Carricarte, the deputy foreign trade minister. He did not provide the overall value of this year's trade.
"Exports show a certain decline, due primarily to the decrease in the sales of sugar and its derivatives as well as the fall of prices for nickel in the international market," Carricarte said in an interview in the government's business weekly Opciones. He did not provide specific figures.
Tobacco sales, however, were up 12 percent this year, he said, as were nontraditional exports in the biotechnological, pharmaceutical and technical service sectors.
Imports, meanwhile, rose 34 percent through September of this year, led by purchases of oil, food and machinery from countries including Venezuela, China, Spain, and the United States, Carricarte said.
Overall, trade has grown about 22 percent in the first nine months of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004, the official said.
Venezuela has become Cuba's top trading partner, with $1.4 billion (euro1.2 billion) in commerce annually -- the vast majority in imports of Venezuelan petroleum.
Trade with China has also surged, increasing 48.2 percent this year through September as compared to the same period of 2004, Carricarte said.
The Netherlands, Canada, Spain and Russia are the other main markets for Cuban exports.
Nickel makes up 46 percent of Cuba's total exports, Carricarte said. The island nation is among the world's top five suppliers of nickel, extracting 76,900 tons each year.
Cuba's sugar industry, once the economic motor of this Caribbean nation, has suffered in recent years as it undergoes a major restructuring that has closed down more than half the island's refineries. Severe, persistent droughts on the island have also affected sugar harvests.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8DOGQ5OD.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down&chan=db
No comments:
Post a Comment