USDA Does Not Include Cuba In Caribbean Basin Country Report; If It Did, Cuba Would Rank 2nd Of 23

On 16 December 2019, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published an Exporter Guide for the twenty-three (23) country Caribbean Basin (CB).  The Republic of Cuba, with a population of approximately 11.4 million, is not included in the CB. 

The CB countries, which the USDA noted has a combined population of 4 million, include: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, BES Islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba), British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands.  

The Report Highlights: “In 2018, the United States exported over $1 Billion in U.S. consumer-oriented products to the Caribbean Basin. With limited agricultural production, most Caribbean islands rely heavily on imported food products, particularly from the United States. The United States, with a 53 percent market share, is the main supplier of food products to the Caribbean. This report aims to provide U.S. suppliers general information on export opportunities in the Caribbean Basin.” 

For 2018, which the USDA references for CB Top Markets the largest United States export market was The Bahamas with US$226,237.00.  For 2018, the Republic of Cuba was US$224,910,413.00, which would have ranked it second among CB countries. 

United States agricultural commodity and food product exports to the Republic of Cuba increased 15.9% from 2016 to 2017; decreased 16.3% from 2017 to 2018; and from January 2019 through October 2019 were US$250,322,837.00 compared to US$206,438,247.00 from January 2018 through October 2018, representing an increase of 21.2%.   

For 2018, the USDA references that “Chicken Cuts And Edible Offal (including Livers) Frozen” valued at US$143,631,669.00 were the largest United States export to CB countries.  For 2018, similar exports to the Republic of Cuba were US$154,537,803.00 

The Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) of 2000 re-authorized the direct commercial (on a cash basis) export of food products (including branded food products) and agricultural commodities from the United States to the Republic of Cuba, irrespective of purpose.  

The data represents the U.S. Dollar value of product exported from the United States to the Republic of Cuba under the TSREEA. The data does not include transportation charges, bank charges, or other costs associated with exports; the government of the Republic of Cuba reports unverifiable data that includes transportation charges, bank charges, and other costs.

LINK To USDA Report

LINK To Complete Analysis

LINK To December 2019 EEOC Trade Report