Cuba plans to increase rum exports to Russia

Cuba plans to increase rum exports to Russia
Malaysia News.Net
Thursday 22nd October, 2009 (IANS)

Havana, Oct 22 (RIA Novosti) Cuban rum producers intend to increase
supplies to Russia to more than a million litres a year, a
vice-president of a rum producing company said.

Cuba's current rum exports to Russia total some 30,000-50,000 boxes
(270,000-450,000 litres) a year.

'Trade perspectives in Russia are promising,' Juan Gonzalez, head of the
Cuba Ron company, said.

'Our products have a potentially large market in Russia, and we are
taking steps to develop this direction (of trade).'

He added that Cuban rum producers hoped to export to Russia 'hundreds of
thousands of boxes' of rum in the near future.

'Supplies will certainly increase, due to the high quality of Cuban rum,
familiar to the Russian consumer,' he said.

According to Gonzalez, Cuba annually exports some 4 million boxes (36
million litres) of rum, including 3.4 million (30.6 million litres) of
Havana Club rum, to more than 120 countries.

However, Cuban rum is not exported to the neighbouring US, due to
Washington's trade embargo on the Caribbean island. Cuban rum producers
lose about $95 million annually due to the embargo, Gonzalez said.

Cuba plans to increase rum exports to Russia (22 October 2009)
http://www.malaysianews.net/story/556863