By Erin Van Bronkhorst
The Associated Press

Boxes of Red Delicious apples will be loaded today in Wenatchee for shipment to Cuba — the first Washington apples in 40 years to be shipped to the island nation
led by Fidel Castro.

Agricultural leaders who met in Seattle yesterday hope the apples will be followed by cherries, pears and other crops, opening a new market for Washington
agricultural products in a nation long under U.S. sanctions.

Cuba is paying about $250,000 for 300 metric tons or 660,000 pounds of apples — a sweet treat for a country where every apple costs nearly $1 and most are
sold to tourists.

The shipment — the first segment of a total order of 1,000 metric tons — will be loaded onto trucks at the Washington Apple Commission in Wenatchee this
morning and taken to a Gulf Coast port. It is scheduled to arrive in Cuba the second week in July.

Dry peas worth roughly $750,000 have also been sold to Cuba from Washington. About 3,000 metric tons was shipped 10 days ago. The Cuban government plans
to buy more peas and lentils.

The transactions are possible only under the Trade Sanctions Relief Act of 2000, which lifted unilateral food and medicine sanctions against "countries of concern" —
Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea and Sudan. Sponsored by Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., the act was designed primarily to reopen markets to struggling
farmers, a major feat for this export-dependent state.

All deals must be cash — the law still prohibits third-party financing by banks that is routine in international trade.

The current sales also spring from a 43-member delegation of women led by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who went to Cuba in January to discuss trade and
other issues. That visit coincided with Cuba's decision to buy products with cash in order to trade with the United States under current rules, Cantwell said.

People from Washington's agriculture industry brought apples, onions and wine to share with their hosts on the visit.

Cantwell said the trip was about establishing working relationships. She said they pushed for purchase of Washington products.

In a letter to Cantwell, the head of the Cuban import agency wrote, "We are intending to purchase medium to large red apples as juicy as the ones we had the
opportunity to try and enjoy while in your visit."

"Peas and lentils and apples have created a path to Cuban homes from Washington, and we're hoping to create a highway with other Washington products," said
Cantwell.

She joined representatives of the potato, cherry and pear industries, along with shippers and state officials meeting with Cuban diplomats, to discuss expanded trade.
The event at the downtown Pike Place Market was sponsored by the Washington Department of Agriculture and Washington State Farm Bureau.

Since 1996, the apple industry has lost an estimated $1.7 billion nationally and dry pea prices have dropped nearly 50 percent.

The Bush administration and powerful Cuban exiles support a 40-year-old embargo against Cuba. But both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have fought to
ease and even eliminate the sanctions, saying Cuba could become a new market for American products.

Cantwell said legislation is pending in Congress to allow third-party financing of sales to Cuba.

According to a report by the Cuba Policy Foundation released last January, the U.S. economy is losing up to $1.24 billion a year in agricultural exports because of
the sanctions.

The Washington, D.C.-based foundation ranked Washington state as the 14th most affected of the 50 states in terms of the potential impact to their agriculture
industries. If the sanctions were lifted, this state could earn an extra $29.3 million, the foundation reported.

                                                Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company

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