ANITA SNOW
Associated Press

HAVANA - Moving to cement trade ties with U.S. business, Cuba on Tuesday agreed to buy $13 million in food from American companies and reached a tentative deal for up to $10 million in farm goods from California.

Hundreds of U.S. farm representatives hoping to build a trade relationships with communist Cuba traveled here for three days of talks organized by Cuba.

Cuban said that by the time talks end late Thursday they hope to contract to buy as much as $100 million more in American farm products. More than 300 people from about 150 U.S. companies attended the gathering.

The biggest contract announced Tuesday was with Archer Daniels Midland of Decatur, Ill., for $9 million in corn. The other contracts were for $3.4 million in rice from Riceland Foods Inc. of Stuttgart, Ark., and nearly $1 million for peas from PS International Ltd., of Chapel Hill, N.C.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif, signed a letter of intent with Cuba for the sale of up to $10 million in farm goods to Cuba, including dairy products, eggs, lumber, produce, and cattle.

"It is my pleasure to try to advance the exchange to the benefit of people in both places," Linda Sanchez told the gathering in Spanish.

Other American officials at the event were Idaho Republicans Rep. Butch Otter and Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie.

"We look forward to the opportunity to have investments here ... and have uninhibited trade between our two countries," said Gregory Webb, vice president for the Illinois agribusiness giant known as ADM.

Investments by American firms in Cuba as well as two-way trade between the two nations currently are prohibited under American trade sections in place for more than four decades.

But an exception to the U.S. trade embargo, created by a 2000 U.S. law, allows for the direct, commercial sales of American farm goods to Cuba on a cash basis.

Among American farm interests participating in the talks is the USA Rice Federation, which represents about 85 percent of rice producers in the United States. A number of Florida firms were represented, including those that have done business with Cuba before, including Splash Tropical Drinks of Fort Lauderdale.

Since Cuba took advantage of an exception to the U.S. trade embargo allowing the direct, commercial sales of American farm products to the island, it has contracted to buy about $716 million in goods.

The U.S. Cuba Trade and Economic Council, which tracks business between the two countries, estimates the value of American farm products purchased by Cuba thus far at about $430 million.