BY NANCY SAN MARTIN

  HAVANA - A Fort Lauderdale-based tropical drink producer is expected to meet today with representatives of Havana Club over the distribution of its product on the island, with the companies likely becoming the first joint distribution and marketing venture between a Cuban and a U.S. firm.

  The 6-year-old Splash Tropical Drinks hopes to seal a multimillion-dollar contract that would bring the product into Cuba's hotels, restaurants and bars as early as
  mid-October. The company makes piña colada and rum rummer mixes.

  ''This is a great opportunity for an American product to come together with the Republic of Cuba,'' said Splash president Richard Waltzer, whose company already
  exports to Canada and various islands throughout the Caribbean, including Jamaica, St. Lucia and Antigua. ``Our product will help them sell more Havana Club.''

  Meanwhile, a number of other American companies participating in the U.S. Food & Agribusiness Exhibition also have signed deals worth more than $66 million. The deals reached at the trade show, which ends today, boosted U.S. sales to more than $200 million since Cuba began making cash purchases of American commodities to replenish crops and other products destroyed last year by Hurricane Michelle.

  The trade show -- the first of its kind in four decades -- attracted 288 exhibitors from 33 American states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

  Participants also included agricultural representatives from 11 states, seven of which sent either their commissioners or secretaries of agriculture.

  The companies signing contracts with Cuba are fully licensed, despite the U.S. trade embargo that remains in effect. A 2-year-old U.S. law created an exception to the trade sanctions by permitting direct commercial sales of American food and agricultural products to Cuba, so long as payments are made in cash.

  The trade fair has generated interest among American corporations eager to add the communist island to their list of Caribbean export stops. With a population of more than 11 million, Cuba represents a potential boon in the region, business executives said. Cuban officials have said that if sales continue at the current pace, the United States could become Cuba's largest supplier of food and agricultural products.

  ''After this [trade show], we will continue to work on more deals,'' Pedro Alvarez Borrego, head of Cuba's primary purchasing firm called Alimport, said Sunday. ``We're not finished yet.''