Maine business delegation pitches state exports at meeting in Cuba
Courtesy / Cedar Spring Agricultural Co.
Maine agricultural delegates display a Maine State Flag at the Monument to the Victims of the USS Maine on the Malecón Boulevard in Havana, Cuba. From left, Joshua Miller, Johnny’s Selected Seeds; Suzannah Raber, New England Fish Co.; Stephanie Cheney Marchant, Cedar Spring Agricultural Co; Mrs. Ramiro Triana Abreu; Doyle Marchant, Cedar Spring Agricultural Co.; Ramiro Triana Abreu, Cedar Spring Agricultural Co.; Phineas Sprague, Jr., Portland Yacht Services.
Maine fishing and agricultural industry representatives are back from a trip to Cuba earlier this month, where they met with buyers and officials of the Cuba Ministry of Agriculture to propose a pipeline of Maine exports to the island country.
The delegation was put together by Doyle Marchant, president of Cedar Spring Agricultural Co. in Yarmouth, at the ministry’s invitation. Cedar Spring also relied upon its partner Ramiro Triana Abreu in Havana to assist in Cuba to coordinate high-level meetings during the visit.
“It was important for Maine growers and producers to act on this unique invitation for Maine to build a reliable source of products and begin a normalization of relations between the two countries,” Marchant said in a news release. “The primary currency in Cuba is not money but building trust that can benefit both Maine and Cuba.”
Delegates were assembled to represent key agricultural industries from Maine, including frozen fish products, apples, seed potatoes and vegetable seeds. Maine fisheries delegates met with buyers to introduce a new species of fish to Cuba, Cape shark, as well as other frozen fish products.
The delegates pitched Cape shark fish loins as a source of protein, and with byproducts that can be processed into fertilizer. Vegetable seeds and seed potatoes were proposed as a means for Cuba to develop a more self-sufficient agricultural system. Maine apples could provide nourishment to Cuba, which has been hit hard by the pandemic and trade restrictions.
Phineas Sprague Jr., founder of Portland Yacht Services Inc. in Portland, served as advisor to Cedar Spring, providing guidance in selecting the team of fisheries delegates to represent a scope of Maine fish products in terms of landings, processing, freezing and storage.
Delegates included Johnny’s Selected Seeds International/Wholesale Territory Manager Joshua Miller, New England Fish Co. Sales and Operations Manager Suzannah Raber, Nova Seafood President Angelo Ciocco, Odlin Family Seafood/Sea Method Fertilizer Owner Robert Odlin, and Cedar Spring Agricultural Co. Vice President Stephanie Cheney Marchant representing Ricker Hill Farms.
Spanning more than two decades, Marchant has a long history of working to bring Maine products to Cuba.
The recent effort took on special significance because of the devastating impact the pandemic had on the Cuban economy, according to the release. Heavily dependent on tourist trade, the Cuban economy came to a near complete halt. As a result, the government has initiated new steps to develop a more self-sustaining economy.
“Our mission to reinvigorate the links between Maine and Cuba through agricultural and fisheries exports is one that will benefit the growers and producers of Maine and the people of Cuba,” said Marchant.
An expanded delegation plans to return Oct. 8 to resume negotiations for Maine agricultural and fisheries products.
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