BY NANCY SAN MARTIN

                      Five months after Hurricane Michelle ravaged crops across Cuba, companies in half the states in America have
                      joined the business bandwagon with the communist nation, with total sales reaching an estimated $73 million, or
                      more than twice the original amount of the deal.

                      Agricultural products stretching across 25 states -- from Alabama to Wisconsin, but not including Florida -- are
                      being boxed and shipped to Cuba, according to the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council Inc. report released
                      this week. The products are being provided by at least 15 U.S. companies that have agreed to do business with
                      the Cuban government.

                      Cuba is still recovering from the destruction caused by the Nov. 2 storm that reached 125-mph winds, but the
                      sales have gone far beyond replacement of losses, the original objective, to assume a new dimension, Cuban
                      officials and business leaders say.

                      ''The first purchases were strictly for reserves, but other purchases have a different character,'' said Luis
                      Fernández, a spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section in Washington. ``Whether this will continue, I don't
                      know.''

                      The sales consist of various food products, including corn, rice, chicken, apples and peas. They come at a time
                      when the Bush administration has threatened to tighten the embargo, even as Congress is divided over the issue.

                      Since the first deals were reached in mid-November, the Bush administration has tried to dampen speculation that
                      they could lead to more permanent trade relations. Yet, the amount of sales have risen from the original estimate
                      of about $30 million to $73 million. And more contracts are in the works.

                      But even as the sales have increased, the administration has impeded efforts to strengthen ties between
                      entrepreneurs and Cuban officials. Visas recently were revoked for various Cuban officials, including Pedro
                      Alvarez Borrego, president of Alimport, the government entity responsible for import purchases.

                      He was among a group of Cubans that were to visit various farming states and inspect poultry facilities in
                      Michigan, Indiana, Georgia, Arkansas and Texas. Efforts to reach Alvarez Borrego for comment were
                      unsuccessful.

                      10 MILLION EGGS

                      Among the most recent contracts is the sale of 10 million eggs to be delivered to Havana this month through June,
                      in what is being billed as the first import of eggs by Cuba in four decades. The eggs are coming from various
                      states including Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

                      The agreement with Radlo Foods LLC based in Watertown, Mass., took place in February with the support of United
                      Egg Producers of Atlanta, the egg industry's trade association, said David Radlo, president and owner of the
                      company.

                      He traveled to the island with a delegation of 25 other food producers and exporters.

                      ''We see this sale as not just international cooperation and possibly expanding market, but we're really helping
                      people put food on their table,'' Radlo said. ``They needed the product. They sustained a terrific blow with
                      Hurricane Michelle and they're trying to get back on their feet.''

                      FERRIED BY SEA

                      Like the first shipment of products in December, this one, too, is to be ferried by sea. The shipments so far have
                      gone through ports in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

                      Port directors say the new deals with Cuba are worth watching because of the potential of establishing a growing
                      market worth billions of dollars.

                      ''Our expectation is that once relations are normalized, we think there is an opportunity for this port,'' said Paul
                      Dauphin, a spokesman for the Port of New Orleans. ``As a policy, we have not tried to go down there because of
                      the embargo, but we've got an eye on what's going on.''

                      Cuba was a leading trading partner with New Orleans in the 1950s. But the relationship was severed after the
                      United States implemented the trade embargo following President Fidel Castro's rise to power in 1959 and his
                      nationalizing of U.S. property on the island.

                      The new purchases are allowed under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, which
                      permits the commercial export of food and agricultural products to Cuba with a caveat: The government must pay
                      for the purchases in cash.

                      Jorge Salazar-Carrillo, director of the Center for Economic Research at Florida International University, said Cuba
                      does not have enough cash in its reserves to pay for the products, suggesting that underhanded deals are taking
                      place.

                      ''These are off-the-cuff type of deals,'' Salazar-Carrillo said. ``This is a concerted effort to break the embargo.''

                      In Washington, enforcement authority seems to be unclear. Officials in the Treasury Department said the
                      responsibility belongs to Commerce. Officials in Commerce did not have an answer and said they would check into
                      the matter.

                      Radlo said Cuba makes payments through third countries. Though he has not yet received his fee because the
                      payment is made after the goods arrive, Radlo said he is confident it will not be an issue.

                      ''All the reference checks with other companies show they've gotten paid, like clockwork,'' Radlo said.
                      ``Obviously, it's a reasonable risk. It took us 43 years to get the first order. Hopefully, it won't take another 43
                      for the next one.''