• Submitted by: admin
• International
• South America
• Business and Economy
• 03 / 08 / 2007

Trade between Brazil and Cubaamounted to a record high of 374.85 million U.S. dollars in 2006, the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade said on Wednesday.

Last year, Brazil's exports to Cuba reached 343.25 million dollars, while imports from Cuba amounted to 31.59 million, generating a surplus of 311.66 million, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, Cuban Vice Foreign Minister Alejandro Gonzalez Galiano said Brazil is Cuba's second biggest trading partner in the region after Venezuela.

The vice minister was in Brazil to participate in an annual bilateral meeting designed to address issues of mutual interest, such as scientific cooperation and cultural exchanges.

Galiano said Cuba's trade relations with the rest of Latin America are currently at their best ever, despite the 47-year-old embargo imposed by the UnitedStates on the Caribbean island.

In 2006, Cuba registered the highest GDP growth rate of 12.5 percent among Latin American countries.