HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Cuba believes that plans to allow it to buy U.S.
                  food and medicine are inadequate and says the Caribbean island will not buy
                  goods from the United States unless it can sell products to its northern neighbor
                  in return, a U.S. farm official visiting Havana said Monday.

                  The delegation leader, Georgia State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin,
                  told Reuters Monday that this was the message he had received during a meeting
                  Sunday at his Havana hotel with Cuban Vice-President Jose Ramon Fernandez.

                  One of the topics discussed was a bill before the
                  U.S. Congress that would modify long-running
                  U.S. economic sanctions against communist-ruled
                  Cuba by allowing food and medicine sales under
                  certain conditions. One condition would be to prohibit public or private U.S.
                  financing for the sales.

                  "He (Fernandez) said it didn't go far enough," Irvin said.

                  "He made it plain there would not be trade unless there was dual trade," he
                  added. Irvin and more than 20 executives from Georgia-based American
                  agribusiness companies arrived in Havana Saturday for a five-day fact-finding
                  visit.

                  Cuba publicly rejected the proposed U.S. legislation last week, with the Foreign
                  Ministry condemning it as a "publicity maneuver" aimed at trying to convince the
                  world that U.S. sanctions against the Caribbean island were being eased.

                  After weeks of wrangling, the Congress is expected to vote on it this week as
                  part of an agriculture funding bill.

                  Cuba angry at restrictions in Congress bill

                  The ministry said the proposed legislation did not lift a block on Cuban sales to
                  the United States and left the 38-year- old embargo virtually intact. Cuba would
                  not conduct any trade with its northern neighbor under these conditions, it
                  added.

                  Havana was also angry that the Congress bill would write into law current
                  restrictions on U.S. tourism to Cuba.

                  These restrictions reflected pressure from anti-communist Cuban-American
                  legislators and their allies in Congress to squeeze President Fidel Castro's
                  government and to counter the U.S. farm lobby's efforts to dismantle the
                  embargo.

                  But Irvin described the food and medicine sales bill as "a very significant step"
                  and said the Georgia executives with him would be willing to start selling to Cuba
                  as soon as they could. "They are ready," he said.

                  He hoped that less restrictive legislation on food and medicine sales to Cuba
                  could be passed by Congress soon after the November presidential elections.

                  Georgia is the leading U.S. poultry producing state. Irvin's delegation included
                  executives from ConAgra Foods' poultry operating company, AJC International
                  and Mirasco Inc.

                  The group was scheduled to meet Cuban Agriculture Minister Alfredo Jordan
                  Monday. They were also due to have talks with Cuban port authorities and visit
                  cold-storage installations.

                  A meeting with Castro was also possible. "I'll tell him Georgia citizens are ready
                  to do trade with him," Irvin said.

                  The Georgia delegation was the latest of a series of exploratory visits to Cuba by
                  U.S. farmers and farm lobby groups. A delegation from U.S. Wheat Associates,
                  an organization promoting U.S. wheat exports, was also due in Havana this
                  week.

                     Copyright 2000 Reuters.