April 2002

The U.S. – Cuba Agricultural/Wood/Medical Products Conference will be held in Havana, Cuba on February 17 – 19, 2002 at the Havana Convention Center.

Building upon the success of the initial U.S. – Cuba Agricultural/Wood Products Sales to Cuba Business Conference held on January 30 – February 1, 2002 held in Cancún, Mexico, the Havana conference will include agricultural, wood, medical and pharmaceutical products, will build on the U.S. marketing effort to ensure broad state and local government participation along with strong business and congressional support; and the conference will target a U.S. attendance of over 600, up from the 200 plus attendance in Cancún, Mexico.

What delegates to Cancún said about the Conference:

“The “Cancún”.Business Conference was a great success and I am glad I could be part of this historic event”.  Mr. Hans Pittinger, Vice President Global Accounts, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

"I'm still wading through the information that was delivered and am making plans to continue with this true market development exercise that was so articulately put together by yourself and other meeting organizers." Mr. Mark A. Steed, President, Northarvest Bean Growers.

“As a producer of grains, oilseeds, and red meat, it was both exciting and encouraging to hear the words of the Cuban officials. They showed their true and immediate desire to purchase these products.  It is always exciting when someone else really wants the farm products you can offer”  Mr. Bob Phelps, Illinois producer and Illinois Farm Bureau Board Member.

    In July 2002, the U.S. government took a significant stand in easing restrictions against trade with Cuba.  It announced new regulations that allowed for the direct sale of certain goods to Cuba by U.S. companies.
    Congress, along with the Departments of Commerce and Treasury, specified that the sale of U.S. agricultural products to Cuba be allowed under simplified procedures.
    Products included in the new regulations are bulk grains, meats, dairy foods, processed foods, snacks, juices, waters, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks, wood, lumber, seeds, fertilizers, and natural fibers, as well as medical items. [See www.WDSweb.com for more information on the Agricultural Appropriations Act of 2001 (the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act)].
    These new regulations paved the way for major new markets for the U.S. business community.  The Cubans, who currently pay costly overseas transportation and middleman costs, are open to dealing directly with the much-closer U.S. producers.  And in late 2001 and early 2002, Cuba took advantage of these new regulations and spent $75 million on major agricultural purchases.  Additional purchases by Cuba are expected in 2002.

    This conference does not intend to raise issues of political “correctness” of U.S. current trade policies.  Rather it will deal directly with how U.S. business can take advantage of the new regulations.
    This will be the second, full-scale conference for agricultural/wood/medical product sales to discuss the new regulations, policies, and licensing procedures.  We are inviting speakers (U.S. and Cuban) who will be able to talk about the various aspects of selling to and “doing business” in Cuba.  We will include U.S. and Cuban government officials with the responsibility to regulate U.S. sales or purchase of U.S. goods for Cuban consumption.
    An Opening Conference Reception is planned for the evening of Sunday, 16 February.  Breakfast meals will be provided by the hotels with networking lunch meals provided at the Havana Conference Center.  The morning and early afternoon conference program includes keynote presentations and panel programs lead by senior U.S. and Cuban officials and other invited speakers.  Afternoon tours will leave each afternoon from the conference center for locations such as the Havana port, the Free Trade Zone, Hospitals, pharmaceutical plant, co-op farm, visit with a family doctor clinic, Dollar Stores for marketing of processed foods.  Cultural evening events are planned for Monday, 17 February and Tuesday, 18 February.  All U.S. delegates will return to the U.S. by charter flight from Havana to Miami on Thursday, 19 February.
    Networking time throughout the conference is included in the schedule.  Cuban officials are expected to make themselves available for one-on-one meetings with delegates.

    As with the Cancún conference, the Havana conference will be presented by a coalition of U.S. State Farm Bureaus in association with the Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba, the World Development Federation, by The GIC Group, and Alamar Associates.  Other conference sponsorships will include many who were sponsors in Cancún and other sponsorships will be solicited from the agricultural, wood and medical/pharmaceutical business community.
    Licensing for this conference will be arranged through the Americans for Humanitarian Trade with Cuba (AHTC), and the Center for Cuban Studies.  Both licenses will cover all invited delegates.
    Because travel from the U.S. to Cuba must be under license, INTERPLANNER, a licensed travel service provider based in Washington, D.C., has been selected and will be working to coordinate all charter flight arrangements from Miami to Havana and return, hotel reservations, airport bus transits, tour bus services, and reservations for restaurants for the delegates.
    Airline service will be from Miami via charter service on Sunday, 16 February.  Currently five hotels are planned to provide a choice in location, room rates and amenities: Santa Isabel Hotel in Old Havana, the Nacional Hotel, the Habana Libre Hotel, the Melia Habana Hotel, and the Hotel Palco.

    Sponsors will place their company names before top Cuban officials in Havana who will be responsible for more than $4 billion in annual imports once U.S. – Cuban relations are normalized.  Under the current, revised agricultural/wood/medical export policies, the door for sales to Cuba – a potentially significant buyer of U.S. agricultural/wood/medical products – is open.
    U.S. business interests have watched for years as the Cold War and domestic politics made Cuba as distant as North Korea or China.  Now is the beginning of the future.  Cuba is not just a pretty Caribbean island and hour’s plane ride away from Miami, but a potentially profitable and reliable customer.
    Today’s sponsor is tomorrow’s top player in Cuba in one of the largest new market opportunities for U.S. business.

• Opportunities to meet and talkwith companies that have successfully navigated the complex U.S. federal regulatory system to obtain licenses and have sold to Cuba.  Also, an opportunity to talk with companies that have failed in their attempts to sell to Cuba and the lessons they learned.
• Senior Cuban officials from key ministries and agencies to answer questions on what they want to buy, their purchasing procedures, customs, health and business laws, taxes and tariffs, transportation and warehousing, and infrastructure.
• Unprecedented opportunities to network with the real players who are doing business in Cuba or are seriously planning to expand into Cuba as U.S. policy evolves toward normalization of relations.
• Opportunities for U.S. federal regulators who are responsible for the interpretation and enforcement of our trade policies with Cuba, travel to Cuba, and doing business in Cuba to attend.
• Third parties for loans, sales payments, and in-country representation.
• Conference materials that will provide delegates with a “cookbook” of step-by-step procedures for selling in Cuba.
• Information on infrastructure: phones, internet connections, hotels, roads, ports, warehousing (bulk, refrigerated, specialized), free trade zones, airports, rail, universities and technical schools.
• Key contacts with individuals with years of experience and advice on travel to Cuba, marketing and sales, governmental relations, Cuba contacts, and technical requirements such as shipping, customs, and health.
• Future opportunities.

Companies that commit to sponsorship will be entitled to additional benefits and cost savings:

Fifty percent registration discount to your attending clients.

Special recognition signage at all conference events

Special recognition for sponsors at the Opening Reception

One corporate marketing piece to be placed in the delegate totebags

Benefits are based on current program format and may vary if changes occur.  The above sponsorship fees do not include travel to or from Miami, to or from Havana, hotel, dinners, taxi, etc. expenses in Havana or additional delegate registrations.

The expense for the charter flight per delegate to and from Havana, 4 (four) hotel nights, transportation to and from the airport to the hotel in Havana, and dinner meals are estimated at $1,200 per delegate exclusive of the conference registration fee.  The charter flight cost from Miami and return and four nights of hotel costs must be pre-paid by the delegate before being permitted to board the charter plane in Miami on Sunday, 16 February.

All delegates (including spouses) to this conference must qualify as being an active business person in the agricultural, wood, medical or pharmaceutical products business

All delegates must have a visa issued by the Cuban government and must have a valid passport with them before being allowed to board the charter plane to Havana and to return to the U.S. on Thursday, 20 February.  The conference organizers will obtain visas for approved and qualified delegates.

Please note that meals or incidentals cannot be purchased with U.S. based credit cards as they are not accepted by hotels, restaurants, taxis or shops in Cuba.  Cuban currency or U.S. $ can be used.

Conference Registration Fee:

• Members of sponsoring organizations. $1,500 if registered by November 1, 2002 or $2,000 after Nov. 1, 2002
• Standard Registration (not affiliated with any sponsoring organization).  $2,000 if registered by Nov. 1 or $2,200 after Nov. 1, 2002.  Additional registrant(s), with the same organization, $1,800 if registered by 1 Nov., 2002 or $2,000

The World Development Federation is managed by Conway Data, Inc. and is located in Atlanta, GA at 35 Technology Parkway, Suite 150, Norcross, GA 30092 / USA Tel: 1-770-446-6996 / Fax: 1-770-263-8825 / E-mail: wdf@conway.com / WDSweb / wdf.org / www.siteselection.com
Alamar Associates is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has three decades of experience in providing consulting services for business opportunities in Cuba.  Tel: 1-202-530-5234 / Fax: 1-202-530-5235 / E-mail: alacuba@aol.com / www.alamarcuba.com.
The GIC Group is an international company serving the investment, finance, analytical, and management needs of agribusiness, biotechnology and global trade.  Tel: 1-703-634-1366 / Fax: 1-703-684-1369 / E-mail: info@gicgroup.com.

The U.S. – Cuba Agricultural/Wood/Medical Products Conference
Sponsorship Agreement*

Sponsorship Group/Organization: ______________________________________________________________________________________

Contact Name: ______________________________________________ Title: __________________________________________________

Address: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

State/Prov.: _________________________________________________  Postal Code: ___________________________________________

Country: ____________________________________________________ E-mail: ________________________________________________

Organization name as it should appear in publications and signage:

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Please mark you preferences for sponsorship:   [  ]  Premier Sponsor $25,000  [  ]  Main Sponsor $15,000 [  ]  Reception/Break Sponsor  $15,000 [  ]  Associate Sponsor $7,500 [  ]  Agency/AFBF & NASDA Chapters $5,000 [  ]  Conference Totebag Sponsor  $10,000 Sponsorship levels include benefits listed in this brochure.  Each sponsorship requires a 50% deposit at time of agreement.  Remaining balance will be invoiced and is due 30 days from date of agreement.

Do you wish linkage to the conference Web site: [  ]  Yes, URL _____________________________________________  [  ]  No

Webmaster contact name: ________________________________ Phone No.: (_____) _________________

How many company representatives and clients do you anticipate will attend? _____
 

Indicate type of payment: [  ]  Check  [  ]  Bank Wire  [  ]  Credit Card

If paying by credit card, please complete the following information:

Card Type:  [  ]  Visa  [  ]  MasterCard  [  ]  American Express  Amount: $______________

Name on the card: ___________________________________ Signature: _____________________________

Card Number: _______________________________________ Expiration Date: ________________________

If paying by bank wire, remit funds to:

SunTrust Bank, Atlanta, Georgia, USA:  ABA# 061000104, account 4000740318

Make all fees payable to: Conway Data, Inc.

Mail or Fax this form to
Conway Data, Inc.
35 Technology Park, Suite 150, Norcross, GA  30092 USA
Fax: 1-770-263-8825         Tel: 1-770-446-6996

---

*Benefits are based on current program format and may vary if changes occur.  Please mark your preferences for sponsorship.  All sponsorship levels will be granted based on availability, date of receipt of deposit and acceptance by Conway Data, Inc.

In the unlikely event the conference is cancelled, all sponsorship and registration fees will be fully refunded.

All transportation, hotels and other third party arrangements are not covered by this agreement.

For Office Use Only   Accepted by: ___________________________________ Date: ____________________________        Authorized WDF Signature