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Governor talks Cuba at Martin Rice

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Governor Jay Nixon at Missouri Farm Bureau earlier this month talking about his upcoming Trade Mission to Cuba

Governor Jay Nixon was with Missouri Agriculture Director Richard Fordyce at the Martin Rice Warehouse in Stoddard County to talk about their upcoming trade trip to Cuba. Rice is a staple in the Cuban diet and it’s grown in Southeast Missouri.

Nixon will lead the trip with members of the U.S. Agriculture Coalition for Cuba in the first week of March.

Nixon told reporters earlier this month that the opportunities for agriculture are huge, “It’s 11-million customers for Missouri agriculture. We think it’s a great way for us to put the first step down is to be a leading state – maybe even the first – to get down there to begin the trade mission to sell them the food and fuel that they need for the future.”

Nixon says human rights concerns about Cuba are being dealt with by federal partners.

“First of all, we appreciate our federal partners working on those issues – whether it’s the Senate or the executive branch, either one, to make sure we’re getting human rights and all that sort of stuff. But at the same time, Brazil’s expanding their markets there.” And, with that increased foreign competition, Nixon says, comes the need to increase trade with Cuba now that the President, and potentially Congress, is removing barriers to trade.

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