Cuba all set for another bumper sugarcane crop

[Andrew English]

I sure don't know "what gives."  How is the international market for sugar?
Is there sufficient demand, or would higher production just depress prices?

If there is a production problem in Cuba, maybe it is related to
breakdowns in the harvesting machinery, maybe lack of petro.

-Andy English

-----Original Message-----
From: Brad De Long <delong at econ.Berkeley.EDU>
To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
Date: Thursday, April 27, 2000 1:25 PM
Subject: Re: Cuba all set for another bumper sugarcane crop


>>As I recall there was a time (around 1970 I think) when the Cuban
government
>>wrecked the
>>economy mobilizing the entire workforce to try to harvest 10 million tons.
>>Afterward, they
>>criticized themselves and moved to a more balanced economic strategy.
>>
>>-Andy English
>
>But in the 1960s they *routinely* harvested 6 million tons. We today
>have better selectively-bred cane stalks, better fertilizers, more
>labor-saving machinery, Cuba has the same land as then...
>
>What gives?
>
>
>Brad DeLong