VZCZCXYZ0007
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSK #0456 1170957
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 270957Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY MINSK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4305
INFO RUCNOSC/ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY COOPERATION IN EUROPE
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS MINSK 000456 
 
SIPDIS 
 
(C O R R E C T E D COPY (TAG AND SLUG LINE ADDED) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD PREL USTR EAGR CU BO
SUBJECT: Belarus to Export Sugar to Cuba 
 
¶1. Belarusian Prime Minister Sergey Sidorsky led a delegation of 
GOB officials and state-owned businesses to Cuba April 20 to 23. 
In addition to the usual exhortations of fraternal socialist 
comradeship, in a deal only possible between two command economies 
Belarus agreed to import 100,000 tons of raw Cuban sugar this year, 
process it in Belarus' four state-owned sugar refineries, and send 
the sugar back to Cuba.  In other deals the Minsk Automobile Plant 
(MAZ) will sell to Cuba six cranes, worth Euro 470,000, Minsk 
Tractor Works (MTZ) will sell 100 MTZ-80 agricultural tractors, and 
other Belarusian companies wi,l supply dried milk, butter, more 
sugar, fabric and clothes.  Sidorsky also announced that Belarus 
hopes to use Cuba as a middleman for supplying potassium 
fertilizers to other Latin American countries.  [Note: Belarus 
already sells large amounts of potash to several Latin American 
countries, particularly Brazil.] 
 
¶2. In 2005, trade between Belarus and Cuba fell 44.9% from the year 
before to USD 20.3 million.  Belarusian exports to Cuba nearly 
dgubled to USD 13.2 million, mostly trucks and tractors, while 
Cuban exports fell 76.3%, mainly because sugar exports to Belarus 
fell four times from 2004 levels. 
 
 
Russia Pressing Belarus on Sugar Exports 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. Separately, under union state agreements, Belarus can export 
beet sugar to Russia duty free, but must pay USD 340/ton on exports 
of cane sugar (Belarus has no sugar cane fields, but imports sugar 
from Cuba and Brazil).  In 2005 Russia's Union of Sugar Producers 
(RUSP) convinced the GOR to launch an investigation into Belarusian 
sugar exports.  RUSP argued that Belarus was exporting large 
amounts of cane sugar to Russia, but labeling it as beet sugar to 
avoid tariffs.  According to press accounts, as of August 1, 2005, 
Belarus had exported 395,000 tons of "beet" sugar to Russia.  This 
sugar sells in Russia for 10% less than does Russian-produced 
sugar.  However, from January-September 2005, Belarus' four sugar 
refineries (all state-owned) had produced 464,100 tons of cane 
sugar but only 87,400 tons of beet sugar.  While the GOR's 
investigation continues, in November Russia's Ministry of Justice 
ordered that Belarusian sugar could only be imported to the 
Troekurovsky customs station in Moscow.  Minsk retaliated by 
placing a similar condition on imports of televisions produced in 
Kaliningrad. 
 
 
KROL