Trade and finance situation in Cuba.

1. Analysis of Trade Environment of
Business in Cuba
Group No. 1
Jithin James 1302-069
Kirti Shankar 1302-074
K Sainath 1302-075
Konark Jain 1302-076
Ritika Chaturvedi 1302-122
Rohit Mittal 1302-124
Ronak P Parekh 1302-125

2. •Official name: Republic of Cuba
•Capital: Havana
•Official language: Spanish
•National day: 1st January
•Area: 110,992 sq. km
•Population: 11.2 million
•Average life expectancy at birth: 78 years
•Infant mortality rate: 4.9 per 1,000 live births (2011)
•Public health system: free, open and universal
•Literacy rate: 98%
•Education: free, public and universal

3. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 168 BOROUGHS (INCLUDING
THE ISLA DE LA JUVENTUD SPECIAL BOROUGH) IN 15
PROVINCES
MAIN CITIES: HAVANA, SANTIAGO DE CUBA, HOLGUÍN,
CAMAGUEY and SANTA CLARA

4. Economic performance in 2012
•GDP growth 3.1%, compared with a planned 3.4%
•2% growth in the farming sector
•4.4% growth in manufacturing industry
•5.0% growth in transport & communications
•5.9% growth in trade
•20% growth in sugar production

5. Foreign trade
•Cuba’s economy is open and highly dependent on
foreign trade.
• Foreign trade is conducted via import and export
companies specialized by product sector.
•Trade is carried on with over 3,000 foreign firms.

6. Foreign trade
•Cuba is a signatory of the UN (Vienna) Convention on
Contracts for the International Sale of Goods; it is a
founder member of GATT and belongs to the WTO.
•There are no import quotas.
•All products that enter Cuba must be declared to
customs and are subject to inspection.

7. Foreign trade
•Banning of items as imports or exports reflects the
provisions GATT Art. 20 (narcotics and similar sustances,
arms etc.).
•Public health and phytosanitary regulations are
consistent with the relevant international conventions
and the regulations published by FAO, WTO and other
international bodies.
•Adoption of INCOTERMS and use of documentary
credits and similar instruments.

8. Foreign trade by region*
America 55%
Middle East, Africa & Oceania 3%
Europe 27%
Asia 15%
*2012 data

9. CURRENT EVENTS
• Cienfuegos Tricontinental Bulk Sugar Terminal resumed its export of high quality bagged
sugar. It has projected around 75000 tons of sugar for this year.
• Since 2009, the Cuban government has cut 10 percent or about 600000 jobs. The number
of private workers or non-state workers has increased to more than 1 million in 2012. This
is almost the double the number of private workers in 2009. The majority of non-state
workers are farmers. Their numbers has increased due to Castro’s agricultural reforms like
leasing state lands to individuals. The reforms targets to increase local food production and
reduce the need of food imports.
• The sales of Cuban cigars have increased by eight percent in 2013. It accounted for revenue
of 447 million dollars.
• The Basal Project in Cuba will seek to adapt the agricultural sector to the climate changes
with sustainable practices with the help from the European Union and the Swiss Agency for
Development and Cooperation.
• Former Brazilian president, Luiz Incaio Lula da Silva has stressed the importance of the
Cuban container terminal in Mariel. He also met business fraternity and authorities.

10. CURRENT EVENTS
• According to experts, Cuba will not be to be sanctioned by UN over weapons embargo to
North Korea. Cuba had shipped 240 tons of weapons to North Korea which was seized by
Venezuelan authorities in July.
• Cuba is making advancements in stem cell therapy. Hispanically Speaking News reports
that around 5000 patients have been treated with stem cell therapy since the inception of
the program ten years ago.
• At the UN conference on Disarmament, Cuba highlighted the decision adopted by by the
Community of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (CELAC) for proclamation of the
region as a Zone of Peace.
• Cuba has backed the requests to include issues relating to equality of opportunities for the
disabled in the 2015 sustainable development agenda at the United Nations.
• Cuba has suspended its consular services in United States after American M&T bank
decided to withdraw its facilities in Cuba.
• The Viktor Leonov CCB-175, a Soviet era armed intelligence-gathering vessel docked itself
in Cuba.