Cuba faces sugar harvest decline

25 June 1997

Cuba faces sugar harvest decline

Cubas strategic sugar harvest will fall short of last years 4.4m tonnes.
The country had hoped for an increase.

Cubas economy has been squeezed since the start of the year by higher oil
and food import prices, delays and lower prices for crucial exports and US sanctions.

Short-term credit has been put under pressure by the 1996 Helms-Burton law, which is the 35-year-old US economic embargo against Cuba. In recent years the US has tightened the Helms-Burton law, which prevents US companies from trading with Cuba. The US has also put pressure on other countries such as Canada not to trade with Cuba.