U.S. livestock shipments.

Crowley Liner Services has transported more than 400 head of cattle, plus sheep and bison, from the U.S. to Havana, Cuba--the first shipments of livestock direct from the U.S. in more than 40 years, it was reported on Aug. 13:

The three livestock shipments originated from Crowley's port facilities in Gulfport, Miss., and Port Everglades and Jacksonville, Fla. The voyage from Gulfport on July 25 included 140 head of cattle, three bulls, 12 bison, and one shorthorn sheep. The trip actually began with 139 head of cattle, but a calf born during transit pushed the total number to 140. One hundred twenty-eight head of cattle were transported from Port Everglades on July 31, and most recently, 136 head of cattle departed Jacksonville on August 9 and arrived in Havana on Aug. 12;

The animals were purchased from various U.S. companies by Alimport, the Cuban government's food import company, and shipped under the agricultural export exception to the Cuban embargo. The livestock shipment agreements were worked out during the U.S. Food and Agribusiness Exhibition Trade Fair held last year in Havana. Based on those agreements, Crowley expects to handle additional livestock shipments for the foreseeable future, said Crowley V.P. Jay Brickman;

In 2001 Crowley became the first U.S. carrier to obtain a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to provide regularly scheduled common carrier services for licensed cargo from the United States to Cuba, and on Dec. 16, 2001, became the first carrier to call directly on Cuba from the U.S. in 40 years. Since then, the company has shipped to Cuba a myriad of cargoes such as frozen poultry, apples, grocery store products, dry food commodities, playground equipment, cotton, lumber, and other humanitarian goods;

Cuba is now part of Crowley's regular sailing schedule and receives a port call every ten days from Jacksonville, Fla., and every other week from Gulfport, Fla. Details: Mark Miller, Director, Corporate Communications, Tel: [phone]. Or: Susan Rodgers. V.P. Tel: [phone]. Email: [e-mail] or [e-mail];

A Naples, Fla. rancher, J.P. Wright & Co., was the seller of more than 100 of the dairy cattle to Cuba, reports The Miami Herald (Aug. 13, 2003). "This is a significant step toward restoring positive relations between the people of Cuba and Florida," said CEO John Parke Wright. Company publicist Dan Krassner said all the cows were meant for island farms, with their output aimed at producing milk and ice cream for people in Cuba. The announcement was accompanied by a picture of Wright in a classic Cuban guayabera shirt, arm in arm and sharing cigars with a likewise attired Ramon Castro Ruz, Fidel Castro's older brother. John Kavulich II, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, valued the deal at about UD$300,000. Since Congress passed the exemption, he said, Cuba has purchased about US$250 million in agricultural and food products, such as cattle, corn, wheat, soy rice and poultry.