BY NANCY SAN MARTIN

  HAVANA - Dressed in a traditional white guayabera shirt, U.S. Interests Section chief James Cason walked among the booths of American companies Saturday, taking an interest in products being marketed to the island and inquiring about sales.

  While exhibitor after exhibitor reported how pleased they were with the U.S. Food & Agribusiness Exhibition, Cason used the opportunity to dampen enthusiasm by cautioning them about the risks involved with engaging in commerce with Cuba.

  ''I used to do trade shows, so as a vehicle for selling trade it's great,'' Cason told representatives of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Still, he warned, "Credit is a different ball game. They [Cuba] have the poorest credit in the world.''

  Asked if there was any chance for the passage of legislation that would dismantle the four-decade old trade embargo, Cason said: ``The president would veto it. He made it clear. So I would concentrate on cash sales.''

  Despite Cason's assessment, agricultural and food products representatives were not dissuaded from exploring business opportunities with America's closest Caribbean neighbor.

  ''In our state, producers are looking to diversify,'' said Anthony Moreno, director of international marketing for Kentucky's Department of Agriculture. ``Cuba offers an excellent market. We will definitely let our legislators know that.''

  Moreno said that he had doubts about Cuba's market potential and its commitment to trade, but that the exposition was the impetus for a ``change of heart.''

  About 200 representatives from Cuba's purchasing agencies have spent the week meeting with American executives and signing purchase contracts worth millions of dollars.

  ''I was a little bit leery when I came down here, but they've taken the first steps,'' Moreno said. ``If the embargo is ever lifted in the future, now is the time to form
  relationships. In Cuba, there is a need for food products. The issue is whether this can actually be a viable long-term relationship.''

  Cason was well-received at the exposition, despite the ill-will he stirred earlier in the week by calling Cuba ''an international deadbeat and last in terms of GDP,'' and saying that he expected ''to see a lot more bull than beef,'' at the trade fair.

  ''I give him credit for showing up because his [prior] comments contributed to a poisoning of the atmosphere and did create some resentment among some of the
  exhibitors,'' said John Kavulich, president of U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council Inc.

  Cason spent about two hours at the trade show, shaking hands with executives and wishing them luck even as he criticized the government.

  Members of the delegation seemed impressed by the set-up, saying the trade show appeared to be ``tremendously successful in terms of organizers getting participants here.''

  The event, which ends Monday, attracted 288 exhibitors from 33 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Florida made up the largest contingency of exhibitors, with companies accounting for more than 3,000 product names at the show.